Posted on: Friday, December 27, 2002
November arrivals short of goal
By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer
International visitors have not returned to Hawai'i as strongly as had been expected, making November weaker than anticipated for the state's tourism industry.
A total of 485,970 visitors came to Hawai'i in November, up 24.7 percent from a year ago but down 8.9 percent from the level in 2000, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, which issued the data yesterday.
Still, visitors from the U.S. Mainland have helped offset the continued slump in international travel, and also spent a record number of days in the Islands last month.
The strength in Mainland visitors — up 2.5 percent for the first 11 months of the year compared with the same time last year — has helped offset a 6.2 percent decline in international visitors and has pushed the total visitor count through 11 months to only 0.4 percent behind the same period last year.
The state this month revised downward its estimates for the tourism industry this year, as well as forecasts for the next several years. Expectations are for 6.4 million visitors spending $10.3 billion in 2002, which would be higher levels than in 2001 but lower than in 2000.
And the weakness in the international market is expected to continue next year, said Eugene Tian, DBEDT's tourism research manager.
Visitors spent a total of 4.5 million days in the state in November, up 19.4 percent from last year but down slightly from last year's 4.6 million visitor days in the same month.
International visitors spent about 1.1 million days in the state, an improvement over last year but otherwise closer to 1990 levels, Tian said.
Much of the cause for the weak numbers is the continually lagging Japanese economy and its impact on travel. The number of Japanese visitors — at 119,513 for the month — was more than double the level last year, but it's still down 16.3 percent from 2000.
And those who did come spent less time here. Japanese spent an average of 5.66 days in Hawai'i, down 8.6 percent from 6.2 days the same month a year ago.
"Nowadays people try to break their vacation into a few places," Tian said. Repeat visitors particularly are staying for shorter periods in Hawai'i and making it just one of their stops on a vacation.
Visitors from the Mainland helped to make up for some of the weakness in international visitors. About 321,406 domestic visitors came last month, up 9 percent from last year but still down 4.7 percent from 2000.
But because they stayed an average of 10.58 days, a 3.9 percent increase, the number of days they spent in Hawai'i hit a record. Domestic visitors spent a total of 3.4 million days in Hawai'i, up 13.3 percent from last year and a slight increase over the 2000 level of 3.36 million.
The total number of days visitors spend in Hawai'i is considered a good measure of success because it translates more easily into measures of visitor spending.
The steady rise in domestic visitors continues a trend for most of this year. The boost last month may indicate that those who held off on traveling since last year decided to start going on vacations again in spite of continuing economic uncertainty, Tian said.
The state also released figures on visitor expenditures for October, showing that total expenditures hit $813.2 million, up 37.2 percent. That's attributed to an increase in visitors and a 4.5 percent increase — to $174 — in average per person per day spending. The average amount spent on a trip was $1,585.
Japanese visitors spent $231 per person per day in October, down 12.2 percent from last year but still higher than any other group. Tian said the decrease may be a result of technical processing or procedural issues with the data.
Year-to-date spending by visitors from the U.S. Western region was down 3.5 percent. Japanese and Canadian spending also decreased. Expenditures by visitors from the U.S. Eastern region increased 3.5 percent.
Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470, or at kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.
