Posted at 11:15 a.m., Thursday, June 28, 2001

Tourism numbers down

By Glenn Scott
Advertiser Staff Writer

The number of people visiting Hawai'i in May dropped almost 5 percent from the record crowd a year earlier, state researchers said today.

The May results reflect a gradually declining tourist count compared with last year, when the state set new highs in visitor arrivals, especially during the middle of the year.

The 528,000 visits this May represented a drop of almost 27,000 people from May 2000, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. But this year's figure was slightly larger than May 1999 or 1998.

For the first five months of the year, visitor arrivals are down 1.4 percent from the same period last year.

"Although we are disappointed by the monthly results, the year-to-date totals are very respectable, historically and economically speaking," said Seiji Naya, director of the state agency.

Even without growth in arrivals, some key industry players have seen revenue rise.

Hotels have raised their room rates dramatically, helping to offset declines in arrivals. Hotels and resort condominiums are making about $4 a room more than last year, according to market research firm PKF Hawai'i.

But other sectors, such as attractions and some restaurants, have been hurt this year by declines coupled with other trends, such as a weakening yen.

In the key category of total visitor days, the state saw a 4.4 percent drop in May compared with the same period last year. For the first five months of the year, visitor days are off by 1.6 percent.

Visitor days are calculated by multiplying the number of total visitors by their average length of stay, or 8.4 days in May and almost nine days for the year to date.

The May results generally support the comments of tourism industry leaders, who have warned recently that bookings have softened this year, especially in lucrative corporate-related travel and meetings.

Arrivals from the Mainland, which make up about two-thirds of all travel to Hawai'i, fell by 3.6 percent in May. For the year through May, domestic arrivals are almost even with last year.

However, travel from California, the single most important source of travelers, was up slightly in May and has risen 7.3 percent this year through May.

Travel from the eastern states dropped 7.2 percent in May compared with last year, and is down 3 percent for the year to date.

International visits declined by 7.1 percent in May despite the arrival of at least 3,000 people for the Asian Development Bank's annual meeting. Another 2,000 people were estimated to have come for the Shinnyoen Japanese cultural event in

Honolulu. The number of Japanese tourists declined 7.6 percent for the month, to 130,000.

For the year, international visits is down 2.8 percent through May.

In other notable trends, Moloka'i was the only island to experience growth in total visits in May, up 23 percent to 5,318. Arrivals on O'ahu were down 3.6 percent; Maui, 7.3 percent; Big Island, 4.9 percent; and Kaua'i, 6.6 percent.

Compared with last year, more visitors came in May to attend school and for military and government reasons. Fewer arrived for business-related reasons, vacations and honeymoons.

The number of Canadian visitors shot up compared with last May, an 18 percent increase. Almost half of all Canadians were making their first visits. In contrast, three quarters of those arriving from the western United States had been to Hawai'i before.