Japan visitor counts rise
By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer
Visitor arrivals from Japan increased last month for the first time since March, when the combination of the Iraq war and SARS sent the numbers plummeting.
Tourism from the Mainland also increased, according to the state's latest figures released yesterday, contributing to the ongoing recovery of Hawai'i's tourism industry.
About 495,101 visitors arrived in Hawai'i in November, a 0.3 percent boost over the same month last year.
Roughly 122,353 of those visitors were Japanese, up 1.9 percent and the first increase over year-ago figures since March. The Japanese spent less time in the Islands, however, so Japanese visitor days were down 1.6 percent.
David Carey, chief executive of Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, said that while the numbers could be better, "it's moving in a positive direction. The fact that Japan is beginning to turn the other way is a positive sign."
November figures set a record for domestic visitor days — a measure of tourism's economic contribution — with a 1.7 percent increase over the same month last year. Tourists from the western region led the growth.
For the year through November, visitor arrivals were down 1 percent, while visitor days were up 2.9 percent.
Stan Brown, Marriott's vice president in the Pacific Islands, said tourism "bounced back quite well" in the last two months of the year, though the increases also reflect a slow comparison period in 2002.
The good news, Brown said, is Japanese bookings for 2004.
"If we start to see that rebound continue over the next couple of months, then it looks like a trend, and then it starts to be much more positive as we head into the future," he said.
Although visitor arrivals to the state were up in November, arrivals to the major islands were down, as cost and time-consuming security measures discouraged interisland travel. Visitors arrivals to O'ahu fell 3 percent, and were down 4.6 percent to Maui.
Tourism industry leaders hope to lift barriers to interisland travel, because multiple-island visits mean tourists stay longer and spend more.
The tally of airline seats to Hawai'i fell 3.6 percent in November, including a significant 13.2 percent drop in international seats. Airline seats to Kahului, Kona and Lihu'e all had increases, while Honolulu saw a 7.2 percent drop.
Visitor arrivals on cruises fell 28.4 percent in November. There were four cruise ships touring the Islands, compared with five in November 2002. The decline contributed to a 6 percent drop in cruise visitors for the year through November.
According to the latest year-to-date figures available, visitors spent nearly $8.4 billion in Hawai'i through October, a 5.1 percent increase over the same period of 2002.
In October, domestic and Canadian visitors spent less per person per day than in the previous October, while Japanese spent 9.8 percent more.
The Japanese spent the most of any visitor group, an average of $274 a day. Visitors from Canada spent the least, $119 per day.
Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470, or at kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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