By Glenn Scott
Advertiser Staff Writer
Following a record year for visitor arrivals in 2000, Hawai‘i’s tourist count grew by a healthy 7.4 percent in January as more travelers continued to arrive from the Mainland and Japan.
The 554,710 visitors represented the third-highest January count on record, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, which released the figures yesterday. The healthy arrival numbers this year contrast with the lower totals from January 2000, when some potential travelers stayed closer to home to wait out the millennium transition.
This year, folks flocked to the Islands but tended to reduce the length of their visits. The average length of stay dropped 3.3 percent, from 10.45 days last year to 10.10 days this January. That small reduction set against the large increase in arrivals meant the Islands experienced a 3.9 percent rise over January 2000 in the key calculation of visitor days.
The report, however, arrives at a time when Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is cautioning that the U.S. economy is continuing to reveal signs of slowing, adding uncertainty to whether Hawai‘i’s important tourism industry can sustain the growth that has helped to lift the state’s economy.
Keith Vieira, director for Hawai‘i operations for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, said yesterday he views the January performance as a spillover from the strong performance of 2000. February room sales and current bookings at company hotels, he said, suggest a gradual slowing that reflects a trend toward consumer caution.
"What we’re starting to see now," he said, "is a little apprehension in the travelers’ minds."
Some groups have canceled recent bookings, including one business conference that he said switched at the last minute to a teleconference. To counter slower sales, the company is increasing its marketing budget during the first half of the year.
"We’re concerned," Vieira said, "but it’s a little bit early to worry."
The January report offered a glimpse into a productive month. The 334,497 visits from the Mainland — the highest domestic count for January in a decade — powered the growth in arrivals. Domestic arrivals were up 7 percent, and visitor days climbed by a healthy 7.2 percent. Those visitors stayed here an average 12.3 days, the same as in January 2000.
Visitors arriving on international flights, in contrast, reduced their average visit by almost a day, to 6.74 days. Even though international arrivals were up by 8.1 percent, the actual number of days they spent on the Islands went down by 4.2 percent.
The real growth in January’s results, then, was in the continued strength of the U.S. market, said Seiji Naya, director for the state department researching the arrival rates. He also pointed to increases in arrivals of Japanese visitors, whose longer than usual New Year’s holiday helped translate into a 6.3 percent increase in arrivals and an important 6 percent jump in visitor days.
Among other notable findings in the state’s 24-page breakdown of January visits are these:
 The trend continued for visits to just one island. Overall, such visits were up by 7.6 percent, with solo visits to Maui up 22.7 percent.
Overall, there were 23.6 percent more honeymooners in January, but the surge of Mainland visitors wasn’t the reason. Almost 7,000 more newlyweds came on international flights, primarily from Japan.
Growth areas for domestic travelers were corporate meetings, with a 33.5 percent rise, and business incentive travel, up 20.6 percent. Conventions fell 15.7 percent.
About 5,000 new international travelers arrived for business conferences as well. They were drawn by high-tech events such as the Pacific Telecommunications Council Conference on O‘ahu and the Hawai‘i International Conference on System Sciences on Maui.
Glenn Scott can be reached by phone at 525-8064, or by e-mail at gscott@honoluluadvertiser.com
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