Hundreds of flights were canceled as Hurricane Lala battered the Hawaiian Islands over the weekend, stranding some visitors at airports, trapping others in elevators and leaving hotel guests without electricity or air conditioning for hours.

The storm disrupted traffic in Waikiki, where portions of Kalakaua Avenue were closed Saturday after equipment covers blew off the roof of the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Waikiki Beach Hotel and landed in the roadway. Visitor access to many parks, trails, cultural sites and attractions across the state was suspended or limited, while dangerous surf and brown water advisories curtailed most ocean activities.

Despite widespread disruptions, tourism officials said Hawaii’s visitor industry weathered the storm with limited damage to tourism infrastructure and fewer concerns about long-term visitor losses than during the Kona low storms in the spring. Officials are now assessing economic impacts and shifting their focus from managing a natural disaster to directing visitors to businesses and attractions that have reopened.

Some visitors and returning residents never made it to Hawaii, while others were forced to extend their stays. Airlines added capacity and worked to rebook travelers after widespread cancellations, that left some passengers grumbling.

Jeffrey Eslinger, senior director of market insights and customer relationship management for the Hawaii Visitors &Convention Bureau, said 507 nonstop flights carrying an estimated 111,000 trans-Pacific passengers were scheduled to arrive during the three-day storm period. Eslinger said that the state Department of Transportation said Saturday that 170 flights, including interisland flights, had been canceled.

He said flight operations were expected to normalize by Tuesday and predicted the storm would have less impact on future travel demand than the Kona low storms, which occurred during spring break.

“In this situation,” he said, “the schools are already back, you know, for the most part in many places. So there’s probably more wiggle room in terms of being able to rebook or just come a couple days later.”

By Monday, all commercial airports and harbors had reopened and the state DOT reported there were no significant impacts to any facilities, runways or terminals. Hawaiian Electric said its crews are making progress to restore power to affected customers and expects 95% of all impacted customers will have power by Friday.

Many attractions and businesses have reopened, but some are still operating on modified schedules.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority advised travelers with upcoming trips to keep their plans but urged them to check directly with hotels, tour operators and activity providers before heading out.

Jerry Dolak, president of the Hawaii Hotel &Visitor Industry Security Association, said Hurricane Lala served as a valuable test of hotel emergency preparations.

“This is probably the best hurricane exercise that we could hope for,” he said. “It wasn’t close to us (on Oahu), but yet it gave us enough to understand what needs to be done. This is probably one (cyclone) of what is going to be many.”

Physical damage to hotels was generally limited to debris, fallen palm fronds and other cleanup issues. Although backup generators kept life-safety systems running, power outages affected about half of all hotel properties, leaving many guest rooms without air conditioning or electricity, Dolak said.

“The biggest issue was the guests getting stuck in elevators,” he said.

Caroline Anderson, Hawaii Tourism Authority interim president and CEO, said the agency is still assessing cancellations, visitor spending losses, business impacts and broader economic losses. HTA is also awaiting a damage assessment from the Hawaii Convention Center, which was already undergoing repairs for roof leaks and water intrusion issues.

Tourism officials said they are focusing on providing visitors with current information about operating businesses and attractions.

“You will probably not see a ‘Hawaii is open’ from us, but rather, ‘Here’s what is open. Here’s who’s ready. Here’s how you can get there,’ ” said Jill Radke, HTA public affairs officer.

Radke said previous storms demonstrated that visitors who remain in Hawaii continue spending, though often in different ways. During the Kona low storms, spending shifted from outdoor attractions to indoor venues such as aquariums, theaters and shopping centers.

“By getting out there quickly and letting (visitors) know what’s open, we can redirect their spending and their activities to those open places while respecting what’s going on in the communities themselves,” she said.

Tourism officials and industry leaders said Hurricane Lala generated national media attention but has not produced significant signs of future booking declines.

Keith Vieira, principal of KV and Associates, Hospitality Consulting, said, “There were some short-term calls, a few cancellations, but the hotel reservation managers that I’ve talked to didn’t see any trend going forward.”

Facing its second major weather-related disruption of the year, Hawaii’s tourism industry is leaning on lessons learned from the spring Kona low storms, emphasizing communication, access and community resilience as Hurricane Lala’s impacts come into focus.

Travis Watanabe, Hawaii Visitors &Convention Bureau chief brand and narrative officer, said, “We haven’t seen the degree of sensationalized sort of national media with this event as we have certainly in comparison to the Kona lows.”

Watanabe said providing examples of Hawaii’s resilience will help to build trust with visitors.

“I think it’s not so much about the messaging but how we actually will get through moments like these. The state is very resilient. It’s made up of very resilient communities, very resilient people,” he said.

By Monday most flights were operating as scheduled, with only limited delays and schedule changes. Many state parks also had reopened by Tuesday across Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island.

Toni Marie Davis, executive director of the Activities &Attractions Association of Hawaii, said it is still too early to determine the storm’s full economic impact on visitor activities and attractions. Most operators resumed service by Monday, but Davis said outdoor recreation businesses remain especially vulnerable because their products depend on favorable weather and access to natural attractions.

“It’s kind of the perfect storm,” she said. “There’s a lot of moving parts, and they’re not moving in the best direction for activities and attractions in the state to thrive.”

She added that Hurricane Lala is the latest challenge for a sector already dealing with softer demand, rising travel costs, shorter visitor stays and the lingering effects of previous weather disruptions.

“It’s another challenge in a series of challenges. It was a slow spring. It was a slow summer,” Davis said.