For Immediate Release: October 7, 2004
DBEDT Release News 04-30

HONOLULU--Visitors to the islands continue to be very satisfied with their Hawaii vacation experience, according to statistics from the 2003 Visitor Satisfaction and Activity Report released today by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Results show that over 96 percent of the U.S., Japanese, Canadian and European visitors surveyed rated their most recent Hawaii vacation as "excellent" or "above average".

"Employees from all sectors of our visitor industry, businesses and residents should be applauded for their continued dedication and support in maintaining the superior service that has upheld this exceptional satisfaction rating from our visitors," said Tourism Liaison, Marsha Wienert.

The report details information collected from a survey of U.S., Japanese, Canadian and European visitors who came to Hawaii in 2003. The survey covers satisfaction of visitors and provides details of the activities they participated in, their likelihood to recommend/revisit, their trip planning process and their visitor profile including purpose of trip, travel companions, income level and other visitor characteristics.

Report highlights:

Overall Satisfaction Rating

• The percentage of U.S. respondents who gave "excellent" overall ratings to their Hawaii vacation rose to 72.4 percent compared to 69.3 percent from U.S. visitors surveyed in 2002.
• Japanese respondents continue to be more critical with fewer "excellent" ratings than their U.S. counterparts. 52 percent of the Japanese visitors surveyed in 2003 gave "excellent" marks to their Hawaii vacation, up from 48.7 percent in the previous year.
• Close to 64 percent of Canadian visitors surveyed and 67.5 percent of the European respondents rated Hawaii as "excellent". The percent of Canadians who rated Hawaii as "excellent" was up by about 4 percentage point, while "excellent" ratings from European visitors were virtually unchanged from 2002.
• Each Hawaiian island continues to receive "excellent" or "above average" ratings from nearly 90 percent of their visitors surveyed. About 76.4 percent of the U.S. respondents who visited Kauai rated their experience as "excellent", up from 75.5 percent in 2002. The percentages of "Excellent" rating by those who visited Maui (73.6%), Oahu (60.1%), Lanai (61.7%) and Molokai (53.6%) in 2003 were also higher compared to the previous year. "Excellent" ratings by visitors to Big Island (65.1%) were almost the same as the previous year.
• "Excellent" ratings given by Japanese respondents who visited the Big Island (57.3%), Oahu (55.1%), Maui (53.7%), Lanai (50.0%) and Molokai (41.7%) were higher compared to 2002. About 42 percent of Japanese visitors surveyed gave "excellent" marks to Kauai.
• Each island received a higher percentage of "excellent" ratings by Canadian visitors surveyed in 2003 compared to the previous year.
• Over half of the European respondents who came in 2003 rated the islands they visited as "excellent".

Participation in Activities

The 2003 survey queried visitors about their participation in the following activities while on each island: shopping, sightseeing, culture, recreation, entertainment and transportation. The results show clear differences in the shopping habits, the mode of transportation used, and the types of activities chosen by U.S., Canadian and European visitors compared to Japanese respondents. Similar to results from the 2002 survey, shopping, sightseeing and recreation while in Hawaii continue to be the top three activities of respondents from all visitor markets in 2003.

• Shopping: Virtually all of the respondents engaged in shopping during their stay in the islands. The most popular shopping places for U.S. West and U.S.

  East visitors were convenience stores, supermarkets, department stores and hotel stores. In contrast, Japanese visitors favored shopping in duty free stores, convenience stores, designer boutiques and supermarkets. More Canadian visitors shopped in department stores, convenience stores and supermarkets while more European visitors went to supermarkets and department stores.

  While the majority of the Japanese respondents did most of their shopping on Oahu, shopping activities by U.S. West, U.S. East, Canadian and European respondents were more distributed across Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. The most active shoppers among the Japanese respondents were wedding/honeymoon visitors, families and younger visitors.

• Sightseeing: The three most popular sightseeing activities among the respondents were self-guided tours, tour bus excursions and boat tours/submarine/whale watching tours. The majority of the U.S. West, U.S. East, Canadian and European visitors went on self-guided tours on all islands. In contrast, a lower percentage of the Japanese respondents went on self-guided tours but mainly on Oahu.
• Recreation: Swimming/sunbathing/beach, snorkeling/scuba diving was the most popular recreation activity among visitors from all five major markets, with families, young and wedding/honeymoon visitors showing higher participation rates. Snorkeling/scuba diving and running/jogging/fitness walking were the second and third most popular among visitors from the five major markets. The majority of the U.S., Canadian and European respondents participated in these recreational activities on each of the islands they visited. Japanese respondents concentrated much of the top three recreation activities on Oahu.
• Cultural: Close to 80 percent of U.S. West, U.S. East, Canadian and European visitors surveyed participated in or attended cultural activities compared to 57 percent of their Japanese counterparts on a statewide basis. Survey results also indicated that U.S., Canadian and European respondents generally visited one or more cultural attractions across all islands. In contrast, the majority of the Japanese respondents who participated in cultural activities did so mainly on Oahu.
• Entertainment: Over 81 percent of all visitors surveyed participated in some type of entertainment activity during their stay on all islands. Fine dining was the most popular activity followed by lunch/sunset/dinner/evening cruises, lounge acts/stage shows and nightclubs/dancing/bars/karaoke. Japanese visitors participated in these activities mainly on Oahu while participation by U.S., Canadian and European respondents were more distributed throughout the islands.
• Transportation: On a Statewide basis, a rental car was the top choice among U.S. West (79.8%), U.S. East (74.8%), Canadian (69.7%) and European (54.8%) visitors. The popularity of rental cars was even greater among these visitors on the Neighbor Islands and was consistent with their participation in self-guided tours. Other means of transportation chosen by visitors from these markets were taxis/limousines and public buses. In contrast, over half of the Japanese respondents toured the islands by trolleys (75.6%) and by taxis or limousines (60.3%). Only about 20 percent of the Japanese visitors used rental cars.

Trip Planning and Booking Time Table

• Results from the 2003 survey show a shorter planning and booking window for Japanese respondents, compared to U.S., Canadian and European visitors who took seven months or longer to decide to take vacation/pleasure trip and to come to Hawaii. Over half of the Japanese respondents took less than three months to make these decisions. Close to 86 percent of Japanese made their airline, lodging and car reservations and purchased their tickets and tour packages within three months prior to their trip.
• The usage of the Internet as a trip-planning tool has climbed in popularity with U.S. visitors over the years. The majority of the Canadian and European visitors surveyed also used the Internet for trip planning purposes. Although increasingly popular, Internet usage for trip planning among Japanese visitors is still lower compared to the other visitor groups.

Visitor Profile:

• U.S. Visitors: Nearly 55 percent of the combined U.S. West and U.S. East visitors who responded to the 2003 survey were female. The average age of the respondents was 47 years old. The majority (72%) of the respondents were working while 16.5 percent were retired. Close to 52 percent of the respondents have some college or college degrees.
• Japanese Visitors: The ratio of female to male Japanese visitors surveyed was similar to that of the U.S., but the average age was slightly younger at 43 years old. Nearly 62 percent of the respondents work for a living, however there were more homemakers (18.8%) and fewer retirees (8.2%) compared to their U.S. counterparts. About 42 percent have some college or college degrees.
• Canadian Visitors: About 53 percent of the Canadian respondents were female and 47.8 percent were male. The average age was a bit older at 49 years old. Close to 65 percent of the respondents work. More retirees (24%) from Canada responded to the survey compared to visitors from the other visitor markets. Nearly 47 percent of the respondents have some college or college degrees.
• European Visitors: In contrast to U.S. and Japanese visitors surveyed more of the respondents from Europe were male (59.7%) than female (40.3%). The average age was 45 years old. The largest group of respondents work for a living (70.1%), and 20 percent have retired. About 39 percent of the respondents have some college or college degrees.

The 2003 Visitor Satisfaction and Activity Report is available in Adobe Acrobat format on the DBEDT Web Site: http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/latest.html

A limited number of the printed report is available for pick up at:

DBEDT - Research & Economic Analysis Division
One Capitol District Building
250 South Hotel Street, 4th Floor, Diamond Head Wing
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Phone: (808) 586-2466

A shipping and handling charge per report will be applied to all mailing requests at the following rates: $3.50 (U.S. Domestic); $4.00 (Canada); $5.50 (Mexico) and $10.00 (Other International). Only checks will be accepted.

For further information on the reports, contact the DBEDT's Research and Economic Analysis Division at 586-2466.

For more information, contact:
Marsha Wienert, Tourism Liaison
Phone: (808) 586-2362
Email: marsha.wienert@hawaii.gov

Dave Young
Communications
Phone: (808) 587-1212
Email: dyoung@dbedt.hawaii.gov