(NewsNation) — Many in Maui are looking for a new place to live after devastating wildfires killed over 100 people and destroyed their homes.

Some are eyeing Las Vegas, partly because of lower housing costs. The city in Nevada is “affectionately called the ninth island” because of its large population of Hawaiians and former Hawaii residents, the Los Angeles Times reports.

However, this anticipated exodus has heightened fears the Maui government had of people leaving Hawaii even before the wildfires. According to the census data, between July 1, 2021, and July 1, 2022, Hawaii’s population decreased by 19 people a day.

Also at risk is Maui’s usually booming tourism business. Initially, the message to tourists after the fires was to stay away from the island, and most people listened. Around 8,000 people arrived in Maui daily before the wildfires — now, that number is down to under 2,000.

These days, that’s a problem, according to some officials. Tourism is responsible for about 70% of all money generated in Maui County, the island’s Economic Development Board says, and brings in billions of dollars annually.

In 2020, during the pandemic lockdown, Maui County had one of the worst jobless rates in the country. Now, the fires have led to even more job cuts. Around 130 people applied for unemployment the week before the fires. That jumped to 861 right after it. During the week ending Aug. 26, this number surged to 4,444, Honolulu Civil Beat reported.

However, even as calls for tourism to return come back, people are urged to be mindful about how they’re traveling to Maui.

“You want to encourage tourism so that the people’s economy there can be supported, but you don’t want to encourage mass tourism because Maui in particular does not have the infrastructure for it,” travel expert Clint Henderson said. “Locals, they’re telling me that they want quality tourism.”

The Hawaii Tourism Authority earlier this month said certain places in West Maui, including Lahaina, which was hit especially hard by the fires, remain off limits. Other places, such as Hana and Kihei, encourage tourism at this time, USA Today reported.

Ilihia Gionson, of the HTA’s Public Affairs Office, told the publication that people need to acknowledge the tragedy in Hawaii. Currently, the tourism office is letting the Maui community “take the lead” on what it needs to heal, USA Today wrote, and is having community gatherings on the topic.

“The two most important things to pack on a trip to Maui at this time are patience and grace, understanding that people have lost a lot,” Gionson said in USA Today. “It’s a balance, right? If you just lost your house, we don’t want you to lose your job, too. And there are going to be some people who aren’t ready to return to work.”