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 Around The Island
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Kauai Economy Strong
Kauai's economy is back on a firm growth path, according to a new report from a University of Hawaii economics think tank. Record levels of Mainland visitor arrivals are forecast for next year together with a continued strong real estate sales and upscale home construction.
The report from the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization shows that the Kauai visitor industry is vigorous. This year and next promise to be good ones for the local economy. Hotel jobs are expected to rise 2.7% this year while air transportation jobs will be up 3%.
Buoyant Mainland travel will push overall visitor arrivals up 1 percent this year, with stronger growth in how many days visitors stay on Kauai due to longer vacation stays. The UH analysts see the visitor count rising an additional 6 percent in 2004. Over the next two years, tourism related jobs will fully recover the losses they suffered after 9/11.
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Low Interest Rates Fuel Building Boom
Historically low lending rates are behind the boom in Kauai's construction sector. While rising interest rates will begin to be felt in the coming year, robust building permit issuing activity suggests that hish levels of construction employment can be sustained in the near term.
Residential permits grew 28.6% in 2002, rising for the fifth straight year. The huge influx of new permit applications has slowed the processing time for building permits to 120 days. The Kauai County Council is aware of the problem and is working to streamline the process with the goal of reducing the time for issuance of a building permit to 30 days.
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Hotel Occupancy Best in the State
Over the past two months, Kauai's hotel occupancy of 73% has led the State. Also, those travelers staying on Kauai only is on the rise and now averages 38% of all visitors to the garden island.
 Kauai's Population
The latest figures from the Census Bureau show that Kauai's population as of the end of 2002 stands at 59,946. It's a pretty safe bet that by the time you read this, we will be well over 60,000. The 2002 year end figure represents a 2.4% increase over Kauai's total at the end of 2000. Keeping things in perspective, Kauai's numbers represent just 4.8% of Hawaii's total population of 1,244,898.
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Keep on Cruisin'
 Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) is estimating that 400,000 people per year will be cruising Hawaiian waters by the year 2005.
The line recently sponsored a job fair in Honolulu and here on Kauai to recruit staff. So for those of you looking to relocate to our beautiful but at a loss for what to do after you're here, this may be the opportunity you've been looking for.
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