For Immediate Release: July 26, 2007
DBEDT Release News 07-16

Visitor Expenditures Dipped .5 Percent in June 2007

Note: June 2007 Visitor Research Data can be viewed here.

HONOLULU--According to preliminary statistics released today by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), total visitor expenditures in the first half of 2007 grew to $5.9 billion, a 1.2 percent increase over the same period last year. The average daily visitor spending for the first six months of 2007 also increased 2.3 percent to $177 per person.

Total visitor days declined 1 percent compared to year-to-date 2006, while total arrivals dipped slightly by .6 percent. Among the top four visitor markets, visitors from the U.S West (+4.1%) and Canada (+1.2%) increased but arrivals from Japan (-7.4%) and the U.S. East (-2.1%) were lower compared to the first half of 2006.

Visitor expenditures for June 2007 totaled $1.08 billion, slightly lower (-.5%) compared to the same month last year. The average daily spending was stable at $175 per person. Total arrivals dropped slightly by .8 percent to 664,703 visitors, causing a small dip (-.4%) in total visitor days. Visitors from the U.S. East (+1.3%) increased but arrivals from the U.S. West (-3%), Japan (-3.2%) and Canada (-4.5%) were lower compared to last June.

"Total arrivals, while lower this month, are just shy of the record achieved in the first half of 2006," said State Tourism Liaison, Marsha Wienert. "Hawai'i's cruise industry continues to perform well as more and more of our visitors are choosing to cruise the islands. We are also especially pleased with the strong growth in Japanese visitors coming to Hawai'i to honeymoon and get married."

• By island visitor spending on O'ahu totaled $525.5 million (+6.2%) for June 2007, followed by Maui at $290.9 million (-10.1%), the Big Island at $137 million (-6.5%), Kaua'i at $118.8 million (+3.5%), Lana'i at $8.7 million (+30.6%) and Moloka'i at $3.2 million (+11.4%).
• The number of visitors who came in June 2007 for conventions (+65.8%) increased significantly compared to June 2006. Both U.S. West (+30.5%) and U.S. East (+119.1%) showed notable increases in convention visitors.

• Strong growth for June 2007 was seen in Japanese visitors coming to Hawai'i to honeymoon (+35.1%) and to get married (+37.3%).
• The growth in U.S. East visitors boarding cruise ships (+16.3%) also boosted growth in U.S. East arrivals to 1.3 percent in June 2007.
• For the first half of 2007, visitor spending increased on all islands except Maui, led by O'ahu at $2.7 billion (+.8%), Maui at $1.7 billion (-3.4%), the Big Island at $819 million (+6.4%) and Kaua'i at $634 million (+6.3%).
• More Domestic (+9.4%) visitors stayed in timeshare units in June compared to last year. For the first half of 2007, 8.4% more U.S. West visitors chose timeshare accommodations than in the same period last year.

• Overall cruise visitor days for June 2007 rose 44.4 percent and the number of visitors who boarded an inter-island or out-of-state cruise ship grew 35.3 percent to 35,897 visitors. Contributing to the increase were four out-of-state cruise ships that visited the islands during the month compared to one ship in June 2006.
• Year-to-date, through June, cruise visitors increased 42.3 percent to 225,607 visitors. Visitors who arrived by air to board a cruise ship increased 46.1 percent compared to the same period in 2006.

Technical Notes: 2006 air visitor data presented in this news release are the preliminary numbers and are subject to change. Detailed final statistics will be published in the 2006 Annual Visitor Research Report, available by mid-year 2007. Starting in July 2007, visitor research data news releases will follow a new abbreviated format.

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