Japan, Mainland visitors boost tourism for March

By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i's tourism industry enjoyed a welcome boost last month in visitor numbers from the Mainland and Japan, signaling what is expected to be a gradual return to better times for travel.

About 576,087 visitors came to the Islands last month, up 6.5 percent from March of last year when SARS and the looming war with Iraq kept many potential visitors at home. There was a 6.6 percent increase in visitors on international flights, mostly from Japan, and a 6.4 percent boost in visitors on domestic flights.

Kaoru Taniguchi and her family were visiting O'ahu from Osaka, Japan, yesterday. Taniguchi said there is a lingering concern in her homeland about the safety of travel to the United States, but more and more Japanese seem willing to come. Japan's economic recovery has contributed to that, she added.

Taniguchi said she visited Fiji, Saipan and Guam in recent years, but returned to Hawai'i this year because she has good memories of a trip to Maui 25 years ago.

Last month, about 114,523 Japanese came to Hawai'i, up 11.2 percent over last March.

While Japanese arrivals are picking up, domestic tourism continues to boom.

The state had more domestic visitors last month, 410,482, than in any other March on record going back to 1989, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, which released the visitor figures yesterday.

State tourism liaison Marsha Wienert said the growth was helped by conventions held by the Coors Brewing Co. and International Association for Dental Research.

"It's really good news that we're seeing a recovery," said David Carey, chief executive of Outrigger Enterprises Inc. "This is the first time we've seen stability from multiple markets, and it's been kind of steady over the year, as opposed to wide variations."

He also noted, "I wouldn't get as excited about the (year-over-year) percentages, because it was so bad last year because of the war and SARS."

Last month's arrivals were still well below the recent peak in 2000. In March of that year Hawai'i had 626,313 visitors.

The breakdown last month showed visitors from the western United States increased 5.3 percent to 208,162. Visitor arrivals from the eastern United States increased 6.4 percent to 177,463.

One major market had a decline in tourists: The number of Canadian visitors to Hawai'i fell 7.7 percent (to 27,186) last month compared with March of last year.

Visitors last month spent about $797.8 million here. Visitors from the U.S. East spent about $253 million here, those from the U.S. West spent about $247.1 million, Japanese visitors about $164.5 million and Canadian visitors about $44.5 million.

Not all islands saw increases in visitor arrivals. O'ahu had a 9.8 percent increase in arrivals and the Big Island a 1.2 percent increase, but Kaua'i, Maui, Moloka'i and Lana'i each had declines in arrivals.

That's a switch from past periods when Neighbor Islands had bigger improvements while O'ahu struggled.

"One of the most significant things that I noticed was the strength of Waikiki," Carey said.

Darlene Anderson, 63, is one example of why O'ahu is doing well.

"We love coming here," said Anderson, who was visiting with her husband from Rainier, Wash., and comes every year. "We love O'ahu."

"We live in the country and this is the city," said Lars Anderson, 68, who just retired. "I just think it's fabulous to come here."

Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470 or kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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