Visitor arrivals drop 4.4 percent from record last year
By Glenn Scott
Advertiser Staff Writer
More than 554,000 visitors arrived in Hawai'i last month, but their total was down 4.4 percent compared with the record high number of arrivals in February 2000, state researchers said yesterday.
Because visitors stayed on average for a slightly shorter period, the key statistic of total visitor days also dropped by 5.8 percent from the same period last year, according to research from the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.
The declines are in line with recent comments from tourism industry officials who have suggested that visitor arrival figures, though adequate, may not keep pace with last year's strong performance as the economies on the U.S. Mainland and in Japan continue to slow.
The totals for last month are roughly equal to those for February two years ago, when about 557,000 tourists came to the Islands. Last month, visitors stayed an average of 8.97 days. Two years earlier, they stayed 8.85 days.
As arrivals peaked last February, though, the 580,000 visitors stayed an average 9.10 days.
Seiji Naya, the director of the state agency, said the stronger performance in the year-ago month should not be a surprise. "Last January's Y2K worries caused many visitors to delay their travel plans to February 2000," he said.
Researchers noted that last month's numbers still represent the fourth-highest arrival numbers on record.
Despite declines in arrivals last month, the hotel industry found consolation with overall occupancy rates at 86.7 percent, up almost 1 percentage point from last February's 86 percent, according to data from Smith Travel Research and Hospitality Advisors LLC. O'ahu hotels had the highest rate, 88.3 percent, a 2.5 percentage point improvement over last February.
Just as important, average daily room rates rose 6.1 percent in February to $152.26 for all islands. The important calculation of room revenue per available room was up even higher, up 7.1 percent to $132.03.
In another case of mixed signals, domestic arrivals dropped by 3.1 percent, with visitor days down 4.5 percent, yet travel from some areas improved. Arrivals from a newly mined market in New England shot up by 18.7 percent, and researchers said travelers from California, Hawai'i's most dependable market, increased by 8.2 percent.
The overall decline among foreign visitors was more pronounced. International arrivals dropped 6.6 percent, and visitor days ebbed by 9 percent. Japanese visits were off by 5.7 percent, with a similar decline in visitor days.
Canadian travel to Hawai'i continued to lose traction, with arrivals off by 18.8 percent and visitor days down 16.8 percent.
Other notable statistics:
• While the 87,900 visitors from California represented a previously mentioned 8.2 percent increase last month, arrivals from Washington and Oregon were down 17.1 percent and 11.4 percent, respectively.
• Though Japanese arrivals were down overall, the 12,469 visits to Kaua'i equaled a 21 percent rise. And 6,632 Japanese visits to Hilo almost doubled the number from a year earlier.
• Japanese businesses sent more employees to the Islands in February. The 2,478 arrivals for corporate meetings represented a 159 percent increase, and the 5,414 people here on incentive travel showed a 60 percent jump.
• The increase in cruising activities translated into another big bump up in arrivals as 8,741 tourists flew in on jets, up 77 percent. Another 2,968 passengers arrived on foreign-flagged ships, a 75 percent increase from February 2000.
