(AP) — A surge of tourists in Hawaiʻi has driven up the price of rental cars after fleets were thinned out during the pandemic. Hawaiʻi News Now reported Monday that some companies in Honolulu had only large vans for $500 a day and convertibles for $1,000 a day or more. Jerry Agrusa, a professor in the School of Travel Industry Management at the University of Hawaiʻi, says car rental companies had to get rid of cars when tourism stopped during the pandemic. He says uncertainty about when tourism would return is another factor in the high prices.

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