Mainland visitors increase
By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i greeted more Mainland visitors and fewer international tourists in September as world events and recovering economies continued to drive the mix of tourism in the state.
About 471,000 visitors arrived in the Islands last month, up 1.3 percent from a year ago, the latest state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism figures show.
The growth came as a result of a 3.4 percent increase to 309,171 in Mainland visitors, offsetting continuing but slower declines in visits by international tourists.
Two of Hawai'i's largest international markets sent fewer visitors to the Islands in September. The number of Japanese visitors fell 1.3 percent to 129,678, while Canadian visitor arrivals declined 7 percent to 7,438.
The overall 2.6 percent drop in visitors arriving on international flights represents an improvement in the declines in travelers following the war with Iraq and SARS earlier this year and persistent economic troubles in Japan. For the year to date, Japanese visitor arrivals are down 13.4 percent.
"It looks like the continuing slide of numbers has leveled off a bit," said Stan Brown, area vice president for Marriott hotels.
Tourism officials would be premature to celebrate, however. For the year through September, the number of visitors to Hawai'i trailed by 1 percent the figures for the same period last year.
And state figures show tourists are taking shorter vacations in the Islands. The average length of stay was down 5.7 percent to 9.14 days. That drove a 4.5 percent drop in total visitor days, a key indicator of the tourism industry's contribution to the economy.
While O'ahu has been bearing the brunt of the decline in tourism given its heavy reliance on international travelers, September was a different story. Last month, it was the only island that posted an increase in visitor arrivals with a 2 percent improvement. Kaua'i, Maui, Moloka'i, Lana'i and the Big Island registered declines of 0.5 percent to 4.3 percent.
Marsha Wienert, Gov. Linda Lingle's tourism liaison, said state officials are pleased to see strong performance in the business travel markets, which drove the increase in tourism to O'ahu.
The number of visitors coming to Hawai'i for meetings, conventions and incentive trips in September increased 23.4 percent to 27,484, or 5.8 percent of all visitors.
Brown said group bookings such as corporate meetings are most encouraging for 2005, while 2004 will be a year for the industry to rebound.
Meanwhile, the number of cruise ships in Hawai'i dropped from six to five in September compared with the same month last year, leading to a 34.9 percent decline to 15,704 cruise-ship visitors.
The state also released visitor expenditures data yesterday showing Japanese tourists spent an average of $201.20 per person per day in August, down 6.2 percent from last year. The Japanese remain the highest spending group of all visitors.
However, visitors from the U.S. East spent the most per trip, averaging $1,816.80.
For the year through August, visitors have spent $6.84 billion in Hawai'i, up 6.2 percent from the same period last year.
Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470, or at kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.
