The number of cruise ship visits to Hilo Harbor declined in the first five months of 2015, compared with the same time period last year.
Forty-eight vessels arrived in port between Jan. 1 and the end of May, according to data provided by the state Department of Transportation. Fifty-seven cruise ships visited Hilo during the same period in 2014.
Taking the visiting ships’ maximum passenger loads into consideration, East Hawaii welcomed as many as 103,369 cruise visitors from January to May, which is 16,176 fewer than the same time period last year.
Those passengers would have spent more than $1.1 million, based on a 2013 Hawaii Tourism Authority estimate that individual cruise visitors to the Big Island spend on average $69 a day.
The decrease in cruise traffic could be attributed in part to an increase in direct access to the island via air carriers, said Ross Birch, executive director of the Big Island Visitors Bureau.
“Direct access to the island via air is more positive right now,” he said. “That may be the reason for the cruise ships not seeing the demand that they normally get.”
The total isn’t quite as far off when one considers the industry’s busy season, said Tim Sakahara, the DOT’s public information officer.
“During the months of January through March, which are the peak months for the winter/spring season, there was only a difference of 6 vessel calls with 35 calls in 2014 and 29 calls in 2015. … The reasons for the difference in vessel calls can be attributed to several things ranging from changes in schedule, repositioning, fewer world tours, etc.,” he wrote in an emailed response.
In late November, advance bookings showed that as many as 3,000 more cruise ship visitors were anticipated to arrive in Hilo in 2015 compared to 2014. However, a number of cancellations after the first of the new year cut into that picture of growth.
The 2,500-passenger Carnival Miracle, the 2,500-passenger Carnival Legend and the 1,316-passenger Veendam all canceled calls on the port scheduled in April, and the 1,850-passenger Rhapsody of the Seas canceled a May stop. The last-minute cancellations meant that a maximum of 8,166 passengers would not visit Hilo.
Those cancellations alone represented about $485,000 in potential visitor spending on the Big Island.
The largest single contributor to East Hawaii’s economy was once again Norwegian Cruise Lines’ 2,250-passenger Pride of America, which made port in Hilo 21 times between Jan. 6 and May 26. The vessel delivered as many as 47,250 tourists to the island during that time, who may have spent an estimated $3.26 million.
Birch said the Big Island typically lags behind other locations when it comes to benefiting from the cruise passenger industry.
“We have a challenge with our island compared to other islands,” he said. “Although they spend two days here — one day in Hilo and one day in Kona — they don’t overnight in either of the ports. You see great spending on a per-day basis on the other islands, partly because they have the opportunity to capture more of the dinner crowd. We’re kind of limited in the amount of time we get to share.”
Far and away, he said, East Hawaii’s most popular attraction is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
“It’s the No. 1 activity that cruise ship passengers participate in when they come into the port of Hilo. It’s typically a full-day excursion for them,” he said.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.