3rd Quarter 2008

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   Hawaii’s tourism sector changed from positive growth in the first quarter of 2008 to negative growth in the second quarter of 2008.  Substantial decrease in both the U.S. West Market and the U.S. East Market was the main reason for decreased total visitor arrivals.  The average daily visitor census also decreased in both the domestic market and the international market.  In the second quarter of 2008, both visitor expenditures and total air capacity decreased substantially; and hotel occupancy rate also decreased compared to the same quarter last year.
  
   The arrival, census and expenditure data herein are revised for 2006, final for 2007, and preliminary 2008. 
  
   The total number of visitors arriving by air to Hawaii decreased 10.1 percent in the second quarter of 2008 compared to the same quarter of 2007 (Tables  D-1 and D-2).  Following the 0.3 percent increase in the first quarter, visitor arrivals were down 5.0 percent for the first half of the year compared to the same period last year.  Similarly, total average daily census was down 10.0 percent.  In 2007, total visitor arrivals by air decreased 0.4 percent from 2006, while average daily census remained about the same as that in 2006.

   Total visitor arrivals on domestic flights decreased 183,305 or 12.8 percent in the second quarter of 2008 from the second quarter in 2007 and down 5.9 percent for the first half of the year (Table D-3).  In 2007, domestic arrivals were up 32,405 or 0.6 percent from that in 2006.
  
   Arrivals on international flights decreased 4,997 or 1.2 percent in the second quarter of 2008 compared to the second quarter of 2007 (Table D-4).  In 2007, international arrivals were down 63,691 or 3.2 percent.
  
   In terms of major market areas, from the second quarter of 2007 to the second quarter of 2008, arrivals from the U.S. West decreased 129,842 or 15.4 percent (Table D-5), the largest decrease since the third quarter of 1992 for this market; while arrivals from the U.S. East decreased 57,771 or 11.5 percent (Table D-6).  This was the fourth consecutive quarterly decline in the U.S. East Market.  Similarly, arrivals from Japan decreased 21,828 or 7.7 percent (Table D-7).  In the twelve quarters from the third quarter of 2005 to the second quarter of 2008, only one quarter (2007Q3) had a quarter-over-quarter increase in the Japanese market.
  
   In 2007, arrivals from U.S. West were up 24,759 or 0.8 percent from that of 2006; arrivals from the U.S. East were down 51,814 or 2.7 percent; and Japanese arrivals were down 66,453 or 4.9 percent from 2006.
  
   The total average daily visitor census was down 10.0 percent or 18,506 visitors per day in the second quarter of 2008 over the same quarter of 2007 (Table D-8).  Domestic average daily census decreased 11.2 percent or 16,843 visitors per day (Table D-9), while international average daily census decreased 4.9 percent or 1,663 visitors per day (Table D-10).  In 2007, a 0.9 percent positive growth in domestic daily census was almost completely offset by an 8.5 percent decrease in international daily census.  The net result was almost unchanged total average daily visitor census in 2007 over 2006.
  
   Nominal visitor expenditures by air totaled $2,751.7 million in the second quarter of 2008, down 8.7 percent from the same quarter of 2007 (Table D-11).  In 2007, visitor expenditures reached $12,578.3 million, an increase of 2.7 percent from 2006, as compared to 4.9 percent increase in Honolulu’s Consumer Price Index.
  
   Total airline capacity, as measured in terms of the number of available seats flown to Hawaii, decreased substantially in the second quarter of 2008 compared to the same quarter of 2007 after the bankruptcies of Aloha Airlines and ATA (Table D-12).  A 13.6 percent or 257,512 decrease in domestic seats (Table D-13) combined with a 12.6 percent or 87,503 decrease in international seats (Table D-14) led to a 13.3 percent or 345,015 decrease in the number of total available seats for the quarter.  For the year 2007, both domestic and international seats were also down.
  
   In the second quarter of 2008, statewide hotel occupancy rate averaged 69.0 percent, down 3.0 percentage points from the same quarter of 2007 (Table D-15).  For all of 2007, occupancy rate averaged 75.3 percent, down 4.2 percentage points from 2006.  

   Readers interested in visitor statistics on a monthly basis can find them at: http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/visitor-stats/tourism and those interested in daily passenger arrival data can find them at: http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/economic/data_reports/special/