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 Tourism Recovering
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July 22, 2002 |
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by: DEBT
 Strong growth in arrivals from the U.S. West (+7.4%) and a longer average length of stay led to a slight increase (+0.5%) in June's total visitor days, compared to June 2001, according to data released by DBEDT today.
The large influx of U.S. West visitors made up for most of the decline in international visitors, resulting in total arrivals being off by only 1.4 percent. As a result, U.S. West visitors increased to 43 percent of total visitors for the month compared to 39 percent last June.
For the first half of 2002, visitor days are down 6.8 percent, as lower arrivals (-8.8%) were partially offset by a longer length of stay (+2.3% to 9.20 days). Year-to-date, U.S. West arrivals and visitor days have risen 0.8 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
"The fact that the U.S. West, our primary visitor market, has surpassed last year's performance to date is helping to shape a very encouraging picture of the visitor industry," said DBEDT Director Seiji Naya. "We are also very pleased that the total number of honeymooners to the islands is up by 3.1 percent for the first six months of the year."
Visitors Arriving on Domestic Flights
Domestic visitor days, compiled from flights originating in U.S. cities, grew 4.2 percent in June 2002 due to increased arrivals (+3.7%) and a longer length of stay (+0.5% to 10.42 days). Year-to-date, domestic visitor days were off by 1.7 percent compared to the same period in 2001.
The U.S. market, which accounted for nearly 93 percent of all domestic visitors, reported a 4.9 percent growth in arrivals, largely due to strong increases from the Pacific Region (+10.1%), Mountain Region (+10.7%), West South Central Region (+2.3%), and East South Central Region (+1.4%). Growth in arrivals from California was especially strong in June 2002, up 12 percent.
Oahu (+2.0%), Maui (+4.2%), Molokai (+29.7%), and Lanai (+26.7%) reported higher domestic visitations compared to last June. Year-to-date, domestic arrivals have increased on Lanai (+14.8%), Molokai (+3.6%), and the Big Island (+0.2%).
More domestic visitors came to vacation (+5.7%), to visit friends and relatives (+9.3%), for other business (+15.9%), and for government and military purposes (+34.2%) compared to last June. The number of domestic visitors here for meetings, conventions and incentives (MCI) dropped 1.6 percent, while honeymooners fell 1.1 percent. Repeat visitors accounted for 63.7 percent of the total arrivals for the month, up from 62.7 percent in June 2001.
Visitors Arriving on International Flights
International visitor days, compiled from flights originating outside the U.S., decreased 12.4 percent due to a drop in visitor arrivals (-12.4%) during the month. The average length of stay was unchanged at 6.32 days. Year-to-date, total international visitor days have fallen 20.4 percent.
The Big Island (+2.6%), Lanai (+30.6%), and Molokai (+306.6%) experienced growth in international arrivals, while visitations to Oahu (-9.3%), Kauai (-41.5%), and Maui (-34.5%) decreased for the month. Year-to-date, single island visitations have increased on Kauai (+19.2%), Molokai (+947%) and Lanai (+44.2%).
Compared to last June, more international visitors came to honeymoon (+3.4%), to attend MCI events (+9.6%), for government and military purposes (+1,145.8%), to visit with friends and relatives (+23.2%), and to attend school (+174.2%), but fewer were here for vacation (-26.1%) during the month. Repeat visitors increased to 50.5 percent from 49.0 percent last June.
Island Highlights
Visitations to Lanai (+27.3%) and Molokai (+46.7%) rose during the month, partially offsetting decreases on Oahu (- 2.8%), Maui (-3.0%), Kauai (-12.3%), and the Big Island (-0.1%). Year to date, visitor arrivals to Molokai (+16.0%) and Lanai (+10.9%) have increased while all other islands have experienced declines.
Compared to the previous June, domestic visitors on Oahu stayed the longest at 7.95 days (+2.9%), followed by Maui at 7.41 days (+1.4 %), the Big Island at 7.07 days (+3.2%), Kauai at 6.83 days (+0.5%), Molokai at 5.04 days (-1.2 %), and Lanai at 4.18 days (-11.6%).
In June 2002, international visitors stayed the longest on Lanai at 7.24 days (+219.1%), followed by Oahu at 5.59 days (+4.6%), the Big Island at 4.34 days (+25.8%), Maui at 3.59 days (-33.5%), Molokai at 2.85 days (-13.0%), and Kauai at 2.48 days (-2.9%).
During this June more visitors came to honeymoon (+1.5%), to visit with friends and relatives (+10.8%), to attend MCI events (+1.2%), for other business (+10.6%) and for government/military purposes (+129.2%), but fewer came to vacation (-4.6%) compared to June 2001.
Year-to-date, the number of visitors here for MCI events (-7.7%) and for vacation (-10.5%) has declined while those here to honeymoon (+3.1%), to visit friends and relatives (+2.3%), for government and military business (+40.8%) and to attend school (+22.3%) and has increased over the same period last year.
While most visitors still prefer hotels to other types of accommodation, the number of visitors who stayed in hotels fell 1.9 percent compared to the previous June. Slightly fewer visitors stayed in condominiums (-0.2%), while more stayed with friends and relatives (+9.0%), in timeshare properties (+7.7%), on cruise ships (+30.1%) and in bed and breakfast properties (+11.4%). More repeat visitors came to Hawaii during the month - comprising 59.9 percent of total visitors, compared to 58.3 percent during the previous June.
Cruise Ship Visitors
There were no foreign cruise ships in the islands during June 2002.
U.S. West Visitors
Strong growth in arrivals (+7.4%) entirely offset a shorter length of stay (-1.2% to 10.06 days), resulting in a 6.1 percent increase in U.S. West visitor days. For the first half of 2002, visitor days have risen 1.6 percent from the same period last year.
The islands hosted a total of 251,181 U.S. West visitors in June 2002, of which 74.0 percent were repeat visitors compared to 73.3 percent of a year ago. More visitors were here to honeymoon (+15.3%), for vacations (+7.8%), to visit with friends and family (+15.2%), for government and military purposes (+58.4%), and for other business (+27.4%), while fewer came to attend MCI events (-6.6%).
Year-to-date, there has been growth in the number of visitors who have come to vacation (+1.8%) and honeymoon (+0.6%), as well as those here to visit friends and relatives (+6.0%) and for government and military business (+13.8%).
Except for Kauai (-1.1%), which reported lower arrivals during the month, all other islands experienced increased visitations by U.S. West visitors led by Molokai (+35.3%), Oahu (+11.3%), the Big Island (+5.9%), Maui (+3.4%), and Lanai (+0.2%). For the first half of 2002, visitations have increased on Lanai (+7.7%), the Big Island (+5.4%) and Oahu (+2.9%), and Molokai (+0.1%), but have declined on Kauai (-0.8%) and Maui (-0.8%).
U.S. East Visitors
U.S. East visitor days eased 0.4 percent in June 2002, primarily due to lower arrivals (-3.3%) that offset a longer length of stay (+3.0% to 10.66 days). Year-to-date, U.S. East visitor days were off by 6.7 percent from the same period last year.
Of the 153,490 visitors from U.S. East during the month, 49.4 percent were repeat visitors to the islands, up from 47.8 percent last June. The number of visitors attending MCI events jumped 11.3 percent. Those here to visit with friends and relatives (+4.7%) and for government and military business (+66.7%) also increased, but fewer came to honeymoon (-2.0%) and vacation (-4.3%) compared to the previous June.
For the first half of 2002, visitations have increased on Lanai (+15.4%) and Molokai (+4.0%), but have fallen for all other islands.
Japanese Visitors
Japanese visitor days fell 17.4 percent due to lower arrivals (-15.5%) and a shorter length of stay (-2.2% to 5.62 days). Hawaii welcomed a total of 121,693 Japanese visitors during the month. Of these, 50.1 percent were first time visitors, up from 48.3 percent from June 2001. Based on passenger counts for the month of June, much of the decrease occurred in the first half of the month, corresponding with reports of decreased Japanese outbound travel related to the World Cup Soccer Tournament.
The majority of Japanese visitors (93%) preferred hotels as their accommodation of choice. However, due to the decline in visitors during this June, hotel lodging by Japanese visitors declined 16.3 percent. There were also fewer visitors who stayed in condominiums (-27.5%), but more stayed in timeshare properties (+99.6%) and with friends and relatives (+87.6%).
Year to date, all islands reported double-digit decreases in arrivals compared to the same period last year.
Canadian Visitors
Total Canadian visitor days decreased 14.3 percent in June 2002 due to a decline in arrivals (-19.2%) that overwhelmed growth in the average length of stay (+6.1% to 10.79 days).
Arrivals for the first half of 2002 have increased on Molokai (+317.8%), Lanai (+32.8%), and Kauai (+0.1%), but have declined on Oahu (-38.9%), Maui (-12.3%), and the Big Island (-7.0%).
Year to date, more Canadian visitors have come to honeymoon (+61.8%), for incentive travels (+75.8%) and conventions (+8.1%), to visit friends and relatives (+6.5%), and to attend school (+103.4%). Vacation visitors (- 20.4%) and corporate meeting travelers (-72.8%) have declined on a year-to-date basis.
Preliminary May 2002 Visitor Expenditures
May 2002 total visitor expenditures fell 4.3 percent to $785.4 million compared to the same period last year. The decrease was due to a 5.6 percent decrease in total visitor arrivals and a drop in per person per day (PPPD) spending of 4.2 percent to $177 per day. Increased length of stays alleviated some of the decrease.
Spending by U.S. West visitors were off by 18.4 percent from May 2001, but remained the largest of all visitor groups at $246.6 million. Expenditures by visitors from Canada (-14.6% to $19.3 million) and from markets other than the top four MMAs (-8.3% to $84.6 million) also fell compared to a year ago. Partially offsetting these decreases were growth in spending by U.S. East (+2.5%) and Japanese visitors (+13.4%) to $217.6 million and $217.2 million, respectively.
Year to date, total visitor expenditures have declined 5.6 percent to $4,106.3 million, with decreases reported from all market segments.
Daily spending by Japanese visitors continue to be the highest among all visitor groups at $296 per person per day, up 13.4 percent from the same month last year. The smaller party size of Japanese visitors who came during this May partially contributed to higher daily per person spending during the month.
Ranked second in daily spending per person were visitors from markets other than the top four MMAs at $205, down 1.0 percent from last May; followed by expenditures by U.S. East visitors at $171 (+5.3%) and Canadian visitors at $161. U.S. West visitors spent the least on a daily basis at $130 (-22.0%) per person.
Year-to-date, per person per day expenditure rose 3.0 percent to $178 compared to the same period last year. Except for the U.S. West (-7.3%) and Canada (-2.3%), which reported decreases in daily spending, all other MMAs reported growth for the period.
Total per person per trip (PPPT) expenditures rose 1.4 percent over May 2001 to $1,576. Visitors from markets other than the top four MMAs spent the most per trip at $2,303, followed by visitors from Japan ($1,823), Canada ($1,766), and the U.S. East ($1,648). U.S. West visitors also spent the least per trip at $1,237 per person. Year-to- date, per trip expenditures have increased 5.4 percent to $1,631 per person.
Total visitor expenditures in Table A were estimated by multiplying per person per day expenditures for hotel visitors and non-hotel visitors with their corresponding visitor day totals. The per person, per day expenditures estimated in Table A are weighted by total hotel and non-hotel visitor days.
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