Business Monday: Kīlauea eruptions bring more tourists and locals to Volcano Village

As lava fountains have soared during the slew of eruptions this year within Kīlauea’s Halemaʻumaʻu crater, so has business in Volcano Village.

The village, located about five minutes from the entrance to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, caters to tourists and locals who come to see Mother Nature’s show. It serves as a home base for artist studios, restaurants and more than 200 vacation rental proprietors.

Shannon Fisher, who has owned the six-room bed and breakfast Aloha Crater Lodge for 18 years, has gone through many slow periods when Kīlauea is not erupting.

“Comparing this time this year to this time last year, there is a huge difference,” Fisher said. “Last year was not a banner year for us, but we’ve been here for 18 years, and I’m just happy to still be in business.”

Kīlaueaʻs slew of 14 eruptive episodes began late last year, on Dec. 23, with each flow lasting for an unpredictable timeframe. The quickest has been 13 hours and so far the longest has been 8.5 days. They have been separated by pauses lasting from less than 24 hours to as many as 12 days.

Fountaining episodes have been accompanied by strong deflation of the summit region, with the beginning of a pause marked by an immediate change from deflation to inflation as the magma chamber recharges and repressurizes.

While the eruption is ongoing, the lava fountains have been intermittent, resulting in Aloha Crater Lodge receiving more last-minute reservations from locals.

“People from here end up staying the night in Volcano since the lava can start going off again very late at night, especially with this sporadic eruption,” Fisher said. “I think a lot of people have notifications on their phones for the lava because I don’t even know how they find out about it so quickly.”

Janet Coney, general manager of Kīlauea Lodge, said: “Everyone loves it when Halemaʻumaʻu is erupting, and businesses feel the difference when it’s not.”

She said while Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is amazing, it is the the lava that draws the huge crowds.

“Businesses do much better when there is either a glow at night or a surface flow to see,” Coney said.

Reflecting on operations between 2008 and 2018, businesses thrived year-round when there was a constant glow or visible lava, according to Coney.

“We have been busy since the eruption started back in December. We hope that travel to Hawaiʻi has returned from what we saw in 2024, but we know that the eruption contributed significantly to visitors coming up to Volcano,” Coney said.

“We are thrilled to see kamaʻāina and visitors here enjoying the excitement and beauty of these weekly eruptions, and we are happy to be busy again in our restaurant, lodging and gift shop.”

Ironically, one of the worst times for Volcano businesses occurred during an eruption when Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park closed for safety precautions on May 2, 2018, the day before the 2018 Kīlauea lower East Rift Zone eruption in lower Puna.

“The 2018 eruption was hard because I think the media confused people on the mainland, and they thought that the eruption was affecting the area around the caldera, which would be Volcano Village,” Fisher said. “There were a lot of people too fearful to visit until the lava flow ended.”

The eruption ended in August 2018, but recovery for Volcano businesses was slow. It took more than two years for another eruption to begin in December 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in March of 2019, also caused a significant decline in tourism.

“After the 2018 eruption, I attended community meetings that brainstormed ways to attract more locals to stay in our area and not just drive through for a trip to the park,” Fisher said.

To address these issues, Volcano Village businesses came together to start “Experience Volcano,” a hui (group) working to maintain and strengthen economic vitality. One of its biggest events is the Experience Volcano Festival, which last year featured more than 60 vendors and 84 hours of entertainment and content throughout Volcano Village.

“This is the largest number of vendors we’ve had, and every year we see more attendees,” said Jesse Tunison, president of Experience Volcano Hawaiʻi. “The festival has evolved to include every organization in the community and has become a bit of a summer block party. It’s firmly something our Volcano community looks forward to each year.”

The festival includes the ʻŌhiʻa Lehua Half Marathon each year, driving more visitors to stay at Aloha Crater Lodge and Kīlauea Lodge as runners spend the night in Volcano before the race.

“The races really help us, and so does the annual (Volcano Village Artists Hui Art Studio Tour and Sale), which gives visitors and residents the chance to see our amazing artist community and their work,” Fisher said. “People who come to a new place want to see the local color of the community, and everyone loves to be part of the fun.”

According to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, the next window for the start of the 15th episode of the current eruption likely could occur today.

A timeline of eruptive episodes since Dec. 23, 2024 and the Kīlauea eruption reference map from Jan. 15 can be found at the U.S. Geological Survey website.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues to closely monitor Kīlauea, maintaining constant contact with Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense about eruptive hazards.

Visit the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park website for visitor information.