SDAT_Application 2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Economic Information: Downtown Hilo, and the Island of Hawaii, maintains a diverse economy that combines agriculture, aquaculture, livestock trade, tourism, education, government, and health services. Hilo is at the center of the world's largest tropical flower industry. A multitude of flower farms and flower cooperatives export a variety of cut flowers and potted plants world -wide. Roughly 55% of the island is dedicated to agriculture. Livestock sales total $25 million annually. Hawaii Island is the states largest producer of honey — about one million pounds per year. Aquaculture farms produce about eleven million pounds of aqua - products per year consisting of a variety of fish and seafood, in addition to several types of microalgae destined for the pharmaceutical industry. As one of the last remaining traditional plantation towns, Downtown Hilo's historic character continues to attract a large number of visitors. In 2007, domestic visitors totaled 1,264,752 in addition to 337,755 international visitors. Of these, 405,386 visitors arrived by cruise ship. Downtown Hilo exhibits a thriving art and culture scene with four world -class museums and arts institutions all located within walking distance of each other. Hilo is the renowned "hula capital of the world" and each year hosts the Merrie Monarch Festival which attracts thousands of domestic and international visitors. The Merrie Monarch Festival serves to perpetuate and promote Hawaiian culture and in particular the art of hula. The Merrie Monarch is named in honor of King Kalakaua who was instrumental in reviving hula, which had been banned by early Christian missionaries for over seventy years. Downtown Hilo hosts a variety of other arts and cultural festivals that are vital to the local economy. Examples include: HawaiTs World Heritage Festival, the Annual Big Island Hawaiian Music Festival, and the Hilo Chinese New Year. Regional Setting and Influences: Downtown Hilo is located in the cradle of Mauna Kea and the Pacific Ocean. Its isolated location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean contributes to the unique interplay of exotic visitor destination concurrent with relatively limited economic opportunities. However, a vital sense of community is deeply woven into the social fabric of Hilo and this directly correlates with Hilo's ability to survive challenging economic times. The University of HawaiTs Hilo campus is the largest outside of Honolulu, and offers a range of undergraduate and graduate programs. Despite this, Hilo struggles to retain its youth population who often perceive greater opportunities on the U.S. mainland. One of the core features essential to revitalizing Downtown Hilo's economy is the development of opportunities that will enable young people to pursue their careers while remaining on the island. In Downtown Hilo, one cannot escape the awareness that we live with the risk of natural and human -made disasters. Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes all affect the EnVision Downtown Hilo 2025 1 SDAT Application 2009