There were significantly more Japanese and Canadian arrivals to Hawaii Island, and visitors overall spent considerably more last month. There were significantly more Japanese and Canadian arrivals to Hawaii Island, and visitors overall spent considerably more last month. ADVERTISING These
There were significantly more Japanese and Canadian arrivals to Hawaii Island, and visitors overall spent considerably more last month.
These gains are helping 2012 becoming a record year for the state’s tourism economy, according to preliminary statistics released Wednesday by Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Total visitor expenditures on Hawaii Island were up 9.1 percent to $146.1 million last month. On average, visitors spent $163 per person daily, HTA stated.
Arrivals here also grew 6.9 percent compared to July 2011, with increases from Japan (29 percent) and Canada (nearly 24 percent) leading the way. Arrivals from the western U.S. increased nearly 5 percent, offsetting a 5.9 percent drop in arrivals from the eastern U.S., HTA stated.
For the first seven months of 2012, Hawaii Island’s total arrivals rose 8 percent to 849,072 visitors. Nearly half of these visitors stayed exclusively on the island, HTA stated.
Big Island Visitors Bureau Executive Director George Applegate attributed the positive trends to successful promotions, better branding and consistent messaging about Hawaii Island and the state.
Applegate also credited a stronger focus on the North America and Canada markets. With the latter, he said the Canadian dollar is currently stronger than the U.S. dollar, which may be leading Canadians to view Hawaii as a less expensive destination. The expansion of direct flights from Canada to Hawaii Island over the years by air carriers Air Canada and WestJet is also a contributing factor. WestJet is expected to add four more nonstop flights from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Kona by next year, he added.
Local tourism officials are also trying to bring more direct flights to Hawaii from U.S. cities, mostly because the way Americans travel these days has changed. Americans are taking shorter trips, looking for family-friendly, meaningful destinations, and want to get there as fast as possible. Because time is of the essence, they’re looking for direct flights, Applegate said.
Applegate repeatedly touted a collaboration that extends beyond tourism industry officials, wholesalers and travel partners, as well as includes the county government. He said the county has helped by sustaining tourism funding and working toward restoring a regularly scheduled flight from Japan to Kona.
The Kohala Coast Resort Association could not be reached for comment at press time.
Statewide, 1,800 more visitors arrived each day, and an additional $17 dollars per person was spent daily in the state through July, compared to the same period last year. This resulted in total visitor arrivals increasing 9.8 percent to 4.7 million visitors and total expenditures jumping 20.8 percent to $8.4 billion, up $1.4 billion from 2011, HTA stated.
Among the top visitor markets was western U.S. arrivals, up for the ninth consecutive month. Those arrivals increased 3.4 percent from July 2011 to 299,072 visitors. Total expenditures by these visitors increased 10.3 percent to $436.7 million.
While arrivals from the eastern U.S. remained unchanged with 166,944 visitors, the increased daily spending boosted total visitor expenditures 15 percent to $347.8 million.
Japanese arrivals rose 21.5 percent to 135,764 visitors in July 2012, but remained lower than the July 1997 record of 203,827 visitors. Higher daily spending also contributed to a 31.6 percent jump in total Japanese visitor expenditures to $248.8 million.
Canadian arrivals totaled 25,489 visitors, relatively unchanged from July 2011; while total visitor expenditures increased 1.8 percent to $46.3 million.
Year-to-date visitor spending has generated an estimated $915 million in state tax revenues and will help to sustain more than 160,000 Hawaii jobs in 2012, Mike McCartney, HTA president and CEO, said in a written statement.
“We anticipate that the momentum from the positive increase in visitor arrivals and spending will continue through the second half of the year,” McCartney said.
The positive trends have caused HTA to revise its targets upward for 2012-14 with arrivals and spending from U.S., Canada, Japan, Oceania and Europe outpacing targets set in September 2011, McCartney said.
