HONOLULU — State tourism officials aim to lure 8.4 million travelers to the islands this year, instead of the 8.7 million targeted earlier, David Uchiyama, the Hawaii Tourism Authority vice president, said Wednesday.
The less ambitious goal comes after several months of slowing growth in the state’s biggest industry, but it’s still 2.5 percent higher than the record number of visitors who came to Hawaii last year.
Last week the agency released data showing visitors spent 5 percent less in January than the same month last year. It was the fifth straight month of spending declines.
Officials say the tourism economy is starting to plateau after two years of record-breaking growth. Fluctuating exchange rates, growing competition and the increasing cost of a Hawaii vacation have all contributed to the slowing trend.
Arrivals from Japan, the biggest source of travelers to Hawaii from abroad, are expected to rise 6.3 percent this year. But Japanese travelers will be spending less and staying in the islands for shorter periods, said Eric Takahata, who leads promotional efforts in Japan.
Takahata attributed this to a weaker yen, which gives Japanese less buying power in dollars, a planned increase in Japan’s national consumption tax, fewer seats on flights to Hawaii and higher fuel surcharges for flights.
Tourism officials aim to bring about 30 percent more visitors to Hawaii from China.
University of Hawaii economists have predicted that 0.7 percent more visitors will come to the islands this year than last, a slower rate of growth than the 2.5 percent increase marked in 2013.
Next year, Uchiyama said he expects U.S. leisure travel to fall off in a continuation of current trends. He said the industry needs to “get aggressive on pricing.”