Unlike most states, Hawaii has tried to do contact tracing. We actually do know where many cases are coming from and it's definitely not tourists. This link will take you to the Hawaii Dept. of Health webpage that shows how many cases are from non-resident tourists. They make up 1%-2% of all cases. 93% of all August cases are attributed to community spread.
https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/current-situation-in-hawaii/#travel
The latest cluster reports also show that travel, lodging, and tourism related businesses are not seeing very many clusters/cases - 6 clusters with 28 total cases last week.
https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavir...eekly_Cluster_Report_19-August-2021_FINAL.pdf
Covid is raging in the areas that are of little to no interest to tourists - Waianae, Waipahu, Ewa Beach, Makaha. The number of covid cases for the past 14 days in Waikiki, Kailua, and Haleiwa COMBINED is less than Waianae alone. You can find the covid maps here:
https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/current-situation-in-hawaii/
I just can't see how tourists can be blamed for the surge when the numbers don't support it.
The state can change entry requirements, but they cannot tell a US citizen they are not allowed in Hawaii. Pre-travel testing for all (including vaccinated people) may make a comeback, but the gov. stated that any travel changes will be announced 14 days prior to being implemented. I have heard of people testing positive for covid and getting their deposits back, but I'm not sure about points.
I can't imagine Aulani shutting down either. The first time Hawaii was shut down, there was no end to the pandemic in sight so it made sense for Aulani to close. (Lodging was considered essential and not required to shut down.) If Hawaii were to shut down again, it would be for a couple weeks, maybe a month, and I imagine it would be easier for Aulani to limp along rather than shut down/reopen. You're probably better off making the decision on your own rather than waiting for the state/Aulani to make it for you. I have a staycation reserved for that same time period and plan to keep it. The experience may be diminished if there are more restrictions but it will still be a lot of fun. I was at Aulani right after they reopened in Nov. 2020 and while masks were required on the pool deck and only Ulu Cafe, Off the Hook, and Olelo Room were serving food, my family still had a GREAT time!
I really feel for all of you who have to make the difficult decision on whether to come or not. Vacations really shouldn't be this stressful and the Gov.'s
request to stay away doesn't provide you with any real leverage to get your money/points back. He needs to make a hard decision one way or the other because this fence sitting is doing more harm than good.