For Immediate Release: November 29, 2006
DBEDT Release News 06-33 (amended)

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

Year-to-date Total Visitor Expenditures increased 3.4 percent to $9.9 Billion

HONOLULU--According to preliminary data released today by the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT), total visitor spending for the first 10 months of the year grew 3.4 percent to $9.9 billion, while total visitor expenditures for the month of October reached $949 million, slightly below (-.4%) the October record achieved in 2005.

Total expenditures by U.S. East visitors declined (-4.2%) but spending by U.S. West (+9.1%), Japanese (+.6%) and Canadian (+9.5%) visitors increased for the month of October. The average daily spending by all visitors was $190 per person, up from $182 per person in October 2005.

Total visitor days declined 5 percent from October 2005 as total arrivals dipped 4.2 percent. Among the top four visitor markets, the U.S. East (-4.1%) and Japan (-11.4%) markets saw decreases while arrivals from the U.S. West (+2.2%) and Canada (+1.1%) increased. The average length of stay by all visitors in the islands was 8.75 days down from 8.84 days a year ago.

Total visitor days (-.3%) and total arrivals (-.3%) year-to-date through October were slightly down from the record high achieved in the same period last year. Domestic arrivals increased 2.3 percent to a new ten-month record of 4,552,457 visitors while international arrivals declined 6.6 percent. Arrivals from Canada rose 9.1 percent but Japanese arrivals were 9.4 percent lower compared to the same period last year.

"Our visitor industry continues to perform well especially when compared to last year's exceptional results," said State Tourism Liaison, Marsha Wienert. "The October 15 earthquake may have had a short-term impact on visitor activity for the month, but we are optimistic that the visitor industry will continue to remain strong."

Kauai (+3.6%), the Big Island (+.7%), Lanai (+30.3%) and Molokai (+9.4%) reported increased visitor arrivals in October 2006. Total visitor spending rose on the Big Island (+15.8%), Kauai (+8.5%), Lanai (+91.9%) and Molokai (+12.8%) compared to October 2005.

Of the total number of visitors who came during the month, 50,925 visitors either flew to the state to board cruise ships or came by cruise ships visiting Hawaii, a 16.1 percent increase from last October. Cruise visitor days in October 2006 and for year-to-date 2006 grew 14.1 percent and 34.1 percent, respectively.

Year-to-date 2006 preliminary visitor statistics:

• Total visitor expenditures: Visitors spent a total of $9.9 billion in the first ten months of 2006, up 3.4 percent compared to the same period last year, with increases from the U.S. West, U.S. East and Canadian visitor markets. Total visitor spending by Japanese visitors decreased 4.4 percent.

  Year-to-date visitor spending on Oahu totaled $4.6 billion (-1.4%), followed by Maui at $2.9 billion (+11.1%), the Big Island at $1.3 billion (-.8%) and Kauai at $1 billion (+9.6%).

• Total air visitors: Total visitor days dropped slightly by .3 percent as record domestic arrivals were offset by decreased visitors from the international market. The average length of stay by all visitors of 9.09 days was similar to the same time last year.

  Visitor arrivals were higher on Lanai (+13.7%), Kauai (+7.7%), the Big Island (+6%), Molokai (+5.8%) and Maui (+4.3%) compared to the same period last year.

  A greater number of visitors came for meetings (+4%), incentives (+4.8%) and other business (+2.9%).

  Repeat visitors accounted for 63 percent of the total visitors to Hawaii, versus 62.3 percent for year-to-date 2005.

  Use of accommodations has shifted with hotel-only visitors decreasing 5.5 percent while condo-only and timeshare-only visitors increasing 2.9 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively.

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

  U.S. West: Total spending by U.S. West visitors reached $3.8 billion, 9 percent higher than year-to-date 2005. This group of visitors spent an average of $157 per person per day, an increase of 6.2 percent from the same period last year.

  U.S. West visitor days rose 2.6 percent thanks to a 3.6 percent growth in arrivals to 2,621,060 visitors for the first ten months of 2006. The Mountain region led the growth with a 13.5 percent increase in domestic arrivals. The average length of stay by U.S. West visitors was 9.36 days, slightly lower than 9.45 days one year ago.

  U.S. East: Total spending by U.S. East visitors increased .9 percent compared to the first ten months of 2005, to $3 billion, the second highest among the four major visitor markets. The average daily spending was $181 per person per day, the second highest among the top four visitor markets. U.S. East visitor days decreased (-1%) compared to year-to-date 2005, due to slightly lower arrivals (-.6%) and shorter average length of stay (-.4% to 10.24 days). Arrival growth from the West South Central (+5.8%) and South Atlantic (+2.5%) regions offset decreases from the East North Central (-2.7%), Mid-Atlantic (-5.2%) and New England (-6.8%) regions.

Japan: Japanese visitors spent a total of $1.7 billion in the first ten months of 2006, 4.4 percent lower compared to the same period last year. Japanese visitors continued to spend the most on a daily basis at $268 per person, an increase of 6.5 percent.

Japanese visitor days declined 10.2 percent, year-to-date, due to a 9.4 percent decrease in visitor arrivals to 1,145,762 visitors and a shorter average length of stay (-.9%) to 5.66 days.

Canada: Even though year-to-date average daily spending by Canadian visitors ranked last among the top four major visitor markets at $136 per person per day, total expenditures rose 12.5 percent to $376.6 million in the first ten months of 2006.

Canadian visitor days grew 10.6 percent, largely from a 9.1 percent growth in arrivals to 210,665 visitors. The average length of stay was the longest among the top four visitor markets, at 13.14 days, up from 12.95 days for year-to-date 2005.

• Per person per trip expenditures by MMA:

  In the first ten months of 2006, U.S. East visitors spent the most per trip ($1,856 per person), followed by visitors from Canada ($1,788 per person), Japan ($1,515 per person) and the U.S. West ($1,466 per person).

Year-to-date 2006 Preliminary Cruise Visitor Statistics:

Total cruise visitor days rose 34.1 percent in the first ten months of 2006. Contributing to this increase was a 32.2 percent growth in cruise visitors to 330,938 visitors, including those who arrived by air to board cruise ships and those who came on the ships. These visitors were aboard 48 cruise ships including 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 57.7 percent of out-of-state cruise visitors, compared to 53.6 percent in the same period last year. These cruise visitors stayed an average of 9.73 days in Hawaii, of which 6.32 days were spent on their cruise.

Technical Notes: 2005 air visitor data presented in this news release are the final 2005 numbers. Detailed final statistics are published in the 2005 Annual Visitor Research Report, available at the DBEDT website: www.hawaii.gov/dbedt.

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