Visitor arrivals and spending were up in January on the Big Island, according to preliminary statistics recently released by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
During the first month of the year, visitor spending on Hawaii Island increased 14.1% to $290.5 million, according to the authority. That figure was boosted by growth in visitor arrivals, which were up 9.4% to 163,530; visitor days, which were up 8.1%; and higher daily visitor spending, which was up 5.6% to $202 per person.
Visitors to the Hawaiian Islands spent $1.71 billion in January, an increase of 5% compared to January 2019, according to the authority. On a statewide level, average daily spending by visitors in January rose 2.9% to $205 per person.
The average daily census of total visitors in the Hawaiian Islands on any given day in January was 269,421, up 2%. On the Big Island, the average daily census rose 8.1% to 46,375 visitors.
A total of 862,574 visitors came to Hawaii in January, an increase of 5.1% compared to a year ago. Total visitor days rose 2%.
Visitor spending includes lodging, interisland airfare, shopping, food, car rental and other expenses while in Hawaii.