Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, United States

🇺🇸 Kailua, also known by its post office designation Kailua-Kona, is an unincorporated town in Hawaiʻi County, Hawaii, United States, in the North Kona District of the Island of Hawaiʻi. It is the centre of commerce and of the tourist industry on West Hawaiʻi. Kailua-Kona is served by Kona International Airport, located just to the north in the adjacent Kalaoa CDP. Kailua-Kona was the closest major settlement to the epicenter of the 2006 Kiholo Bay earthquake. Kailua-Kona's boundaries were altered significantly for the 2020 census. The eastern portion of Kailua-Kona became part of the neighboring Holualoa CDP, while the western portion of Holualoa became part of Kailua-Kona.

History The community was established by King Kamehameha I to be his seat of government when he was chief of Kona before he consolidated rule of the archipelago in 1795. It was later designated as the capital of the newly unified Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. The capital was later moved to Lāhainā, and then to Honolulu.

Royal fishponds at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park were the hub of unified Hawaiian culture. The town later functioned as a retreat of the Hawaiian royal family. Up until the late 1900s, Kailua-Kona was primarily a small fishing village. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the region has undergone a real estate and construction boom fueled by tourism and investment.

Geography Kailua-Kona is located along the shoreline of Kailua Bay and up the southern slope of Hualālai volcano. There are no major rivers or streams in Kailua-Kona or on the Kona side of Hawaii.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Town has a total area of 39.9 square miles (103.3 km²), of which 35.6 square miles (92.3 km²) are land and 4.2 square miles (11.0 km²), or 10.67%, are water.

Kailua-Kona is bordered to the north by Kalaoa, to the south by Holualoa, and to the west by the Pacific Ocean from Kailua Bay in the south to Honokohau Bay in the north. The Kailua-Kona postal code is 96740 (post office boxes – 96745).

Economy Kailua-Kona saw an economic downturn during the 2008 national financial crisis but in the early 2010s has seen significant growth and economic development. Tourism also saw a downturn in the late 2000s but has since seen some resurgence. Visitor air arrivals alone increased about 160% from 2010 to 2017.

The University of Hawaii held its first classes at the new Hawaii Community College Palamanui Campus in 2015.

Since the early 2000s the Kona side had seen significant amounts of vog from Puʻu ʻŌʻō and Kīlauea, but that changed in May 2018 when Kilauea largely ceased its emissions. Kailua-Kona's air is clearer than it has been in decades.

Attractions and events Kailua-Kona is the host of the annual Ironman World Championship triathlon, the annual Kona Coffee Festival, and the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament.

Kona coffee is the variety of Coffea arabica cultivated on the slopes of Hualālai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts. The Kona Historical Society manages two coffee related historical sites: the Kona Coffee Living History Farm and the H.N. Greenwell Store Museum just south of Kailua-Kona.

Ali'i Drive, Kailua's oceanfront downtown street, starts at Kailua-Kona Pier. It has also been given the designation as a Hawaii Scenic Byway called the "Royal Footsteps Along the Kona Coast". This byway features archaeological sites that have survived for hundreds of years.

North of the pier is the Kamakahonu royal residence and Ahuʻena Heiau, and nearby now stands the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel. Another royal residence is Huliheʻe Palace, used by members of the Hawaiian royal family until 1914. The Historic Kona Inn and other shops are on the street.

Churches on the drive include Mokuaikaua Church, Hawaiʻi's first Christian church (the congregation began in 1820), Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, and Living Stones Church, a historical structure built after Mokuaikaua and used as a Christian Missionary landing location in the 1800-1900. Parks include La'aloa Bay (also known as Magic Sands or White Sands Beach) and Kahaluʻu Bay, a popular snorkeling location.

Boat tours that allow tourists to swim with dolphins, watch whales, and fish in the ocean usually depart from Honokohau Harbor.

Media Kailua-Kona is served by television station KLEI and by the newspaper West Hawaii Today, which is owned by Canadian publisher Black Press Media (Black Press Group Ltd.)—also known simply as Black Press—whose headquarters are in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

Education The Hawaii Department of Education operates public schools. Kealakehe Elementary School, Kahakai Elementary School, Kealakehe Intermediate School, and Kealakehe High School are in the Kailua CDP.

The University of the Nations, a Youth With A Mission training centre, is in Kailua-Kona.