(AP) — The Hawaiian island of Maui has become so overrun with tourists in recent months that its mayor is taking the unusual step of pleading with airlines to fly in fewer people. Travelers are jamming a two-lane country highway with illegally parked cars. The mayor says the airport is overcrowded. Beaches are jammed. Travelers are flocking to the island in part because of general pent-up demand among U.S. travelers cooped up during the coronavirus pandemic. They’re picking Hawaiʻi in general and Maui in particular because ongoing travel restrictions overseas limit the places Americans can go. The same factors have spurred congestion at national parks.

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