For Immediate Release: July 31, 2006
DBEDT Release News 06-22

Note: June 2006 Visitor Research Data can be viewed here.

Record Visitor Days and Domestic Arrivals Raise Expenditure Rate 7 Percent First Half of Year

HONOLULU--Hawaii visitor expenditures increased 8.7 percent to $1.1 billion, due to a gain in visitor days and a 4.1 percent rise in average daily spending in June 2006, a record month, according to preliminary data released by the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) today.

The growth in total visitor days for June 2006, 4.5 percent, is credited to a jump in record domestic visitor arrivals of 519,386, a 7.5 percent increase compared to last year.

A 3.1 percent growth in total visitor days - to 33.5 million days - resulted in a record first half for 2006. Domestic arrivals increased 4.6 percent and international arrivals decreased 3.8 percent, resulting in a 2.2 percent increase in total arrivals. Canada showed a 12.1 percent increase in arrivals, in contrast to Japanese arrivals, which decreased 8.8 percent compared to the same period last year.

"For each of the past three months we have realized positive growth in total visitor days and expenditures," said State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert. "The domestic market continues to perform above expectations with increases in the number of visitors traveling to Hawaii for pleasure/vacation, to get married and for honeymoons. Gains in visitor spending continue to help keep our robust state economy moving forward."

Of the total number of visitors in June 2006, 26,529 visitors either flew to the state to board Hawaii home-ported cruise ships or arrived on foreign cruise ships visiting the islands, an 83.9 percent increase from the same period last year. Cruise visitor days grew 91 percent compared to June 2005.

• Total visitor expenditures: Visitors spent a total of $5.8 billion in the first half of 2006, up 7 percent compared to the same period last year, with large increases from the U.S. West and Canadian visitor markets. Total visitor spending by Japanese visitors decreased 2.2 percent.

  Year-to-date visitor spending on Oahu totaled $2.6 billion (+.1%), followed by Maui at $1.7 billion (+20.1%), the Big Island at $770.1 million (+4.3%) and Kauai at $596.6 million (+7.7%).

• Total air visitors: Contributing to the growth in total visitor expenditures was a 3.1 percent increase in total visitor days supported by higher arrivals from the domestic market. The average length of stay by all visitors was 9.2 days.

  Visitor arrivals rose on Kauai (+9.8%), Maui (+9.2%) and the Big Island (+8.1%), compared to the same period last year.

  A greater number of visitors came for meetings (+10.0%) and incentives (+11.1%) and other business (+5.6%).

  Repeat visitors accounted for 63.2 percent of the total visitors to Hawaii, versus 62.4 percent for year-to-date 2005.

• Domestic air visitors: Domestic visitor days rose 4.1 percent as arrivals increased by 4.6 percent to 2,657,472 visitors. The average length of stay was 9.9 days.

  The number of U.S. visitors, which accounted for 92.4 percent of total domestic arrivals to date, was 4.6 percent higher compared to the same period last year with increases from all regions except for New England and Middle Atlantic. Total domestic arrivals include continental U.S. residents and international visitors who came to Hawaii on domestic flights.

• International air visitors: International visitor days remained constant (-.1%), despite a 3.8 percent decrease in arrivals to 980,093 visitors. The average length of stay increased by 3.8 percent to 7.3 days.

• Air visitors from the top four major market areas (MMAs):

  U.S. West: Total spending by U.S. West visitors reached $2.1 billion, 11.9 percent higher than year-to-date 2005. This group of visitors spent an average of $153 per person per day, a 6.3 percent increase from the same period last year.

  U.S. West arrivals rose 6.1 percent to 1,480,178 visitors for the first half of 2006. Visitor days increased by 5.3 percent - tempered by a slight decline in length of stay (-.8%). There was also an increase in convention visitors (16.4%) from this region.

  U.S. East: Total spending by U.S. East visitors increased 3.5 percent compared to the first six months of 2005, to $1.85 billion, the second highest among the four major visitor markets. The average daily spending was $176 per person per day, the second highest among the top four visitor markets.

  U.S. East visitor days increased 1.7 percent compared to the first six months of 2005. The increase was due to a 2.4 percent growth in arrivals to 1,016,323 visitors. The average length of stay declined slightly to 10.3 days from 10.4 days one year ago. A higher number of U.S. East visitors came for conventions.

Japan: Japanese visitors spent a total of $1 billion in the first six months of 2006, 2.2 percent lower compared to the same period last year. Japanese visitors continued to spend the most on a daily basis at $271 per person, an increase of 8.7 percent.

Japanese visitor days declined 10 percent, year-to-date, due to an 8.8 percent decrease in visitor arrivals to 667,147 visitors. The average length of stay was 5.55 days, a decrease of 1.4 percent.

Canada: Even though year-to-date average daily spending by Canadian visitors ranked last among the top four major visitor markets at $133 per person per day, growth in expenditures topped 20 percent to reach $280.4 million spent in the first six months. Canadian visitor days increased 13.8 percent, boosted by a 12.1 percent growth in arrivals to 153,281 visitors. The average length of stay was the longest among the top four visitor markets, at 13.7 days.

• Per person per trip expenditures by MMA:

  In the first six months of 2006, Canadian visitors spent the most per trip ($1,829 per person), followed by visitors from the U.S. East ($1,822 per person), Japan ($1,502 per person) and the U.S. West ($1,445 per person).

Total cruise visitor days gained 53.6 percent in the first half of 2006. Contributing to this increase was a 39.9 percent growth in cruise visitors to 179,647 visitors, including those who arrived by air to board cruise ships and those who came on the ships. These visitors were aboard 31 international cruise ships including foreign-flagged cruise ships and three U.S. flagged ships home ported in Hawaii, the Pride of Aloha, the Pride of Hawaii and the Pride of America.

Repeat visitors to Hawaii comprised 57.1 percent of out-of-state cruise visitors, a slight increase as compared to the same period last year. These cruise visitors stayed an average of 9.7 days in Hawaii, of which 6 days were spent on their cruise.

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