BUSINESS BRIEFS
Maui tourists spend most

Advertiser Staff

Visitors to Maui spent an average of $154 per person per day in the third quarter, the highest on the Neighbor Islands, according to state data released yesterday.

Visitors spent an average of $145 per person per day on the Big Island, $139 on Kaua'i and $96 on Moloka'i. The report did not include data on O'ahu or Lana'i.

Visitor spending per day was lower on every island except Moloka'i compared with the first six months of this year, when visitors spent $178 per person per day on Maui, $162 on Kaua'i, $151 on the Big Island and $87 on Moloka'i, according to the survey by the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.

Kahala hotel regains status

The Kahala Mandarin Oriental reclaimed a Five Diamond Award yesterday in AAA's annual list of top properties, making it the only O'ahu hotel with the distinction.

Last November, the Kahala Mandarin and the Halekulani were downgraded, leaving Honolulu without a Five Diamond hotel.

Hawai'i's Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua and the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, all on the Neighbor Islands, are also listed as Five Diamond properties. La Mer at the Halekulani is the only Hawai'i restaurant with a Five Diamond rating.

AAA performs unannounced evaluations on more than 42,000 properties a year, and only 130, less than one third of 1 percent, are given Five Diamond status.