Visitor arrivals up 11%

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Tourism, Hawai'i's No. 1 industry, continued to boom last month with visitor arrivals up nearly 11 percent.

A Japanese family peers at an upscale boutique in Waikiki. Japanese tourism to Hawai'i has rebounded in the past year, increasing nearly 29 percent in July over the same month of 2003. Advertiser library photo

"It was the best July in our history," said David Carey, chief executive officer of Outrigger Enterprises Inc. "When the U.S. economy does well, our business almost always reflects that."

A total of 683,006 visitors came to the Islands in July, up 10.7 percent from 616,878 in July 2003, the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism reported yesterday.

Domestic arrivals by air rose 7.2 percent in July to 504,692, the best July on record.

International arrivals saw an even bigger increase, at 178,314 visitors, up 22.1 percent from last year. It was the fifth consecutive monthly increase in international visitor arrivals.

O'ahu had the largest uptick in visitor arrivals, at 13.4 percent. Kaua'i, Maui and the Big Island also showed growth, of 9.5 percent, 6.1 percent and 6.0 percent, respectively. Only Moloka'i (down 20.9 percent) and Lana'i (down 1.3 percent) showed declines.

A year ago, the threat of a terrorist attack and lingering concern about SARS kept many travelers at home, industry officials said.

"People are back to traveling, and the Japanese market is definitely coming back," said Eric Kwan, director of sales and marketing at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hawai'i hotel, which boasted occupancy rates in the high 80th percentile for July.

Japanese visitor arrivals in July grew 28.9 percent from last year.

In addition, two conventions — the National Association of Letter Carriers and the American Psychological Association — brought more than 20,000 visitors to Hawai'i last month, contributing to a 73.8 percent jump in visitor arrivals for meetings, conventions and incentives over July 2003.

Industry officials also pointed to growth in domestic tourism. Visitors from the East Coast were up 15.9 percent last month compared with last year. West Coast visitors remained relatively unchanged.

"It's been a balancing effect," said Carey, who predicts September and October — typically slow months — will show gains from last year, due partly to the mix of visitors.

Even Canadian visitors were up last month, with 11,296 arrivals, an increase of 25.9 percent from the year before.

Cha Thompson, who coordinates and gives free historic tours through Waikiki, said she's noticed more variety in visitors to O'ahu in recent months.

"We usually waited with bated breath for the Japanese to come, but now it's all kinds of people," said Thompson, director of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association, which runs the Queen's Tour.

Four years ago, only a few people took advantage of the free historic tour. Now the walk averages 25 people a day. "This has been our best July," Thompson said.

Programs such as the Queen's Tour are one reason tourists are returning to Waikiki, Carey said.

"In my view, the improvements the city has made to Kuhio Beach and Kalakaua Avenue are part of the reason Waikiki has been performing so well," Carey said. "It's changed the perception (of Hawai'i) in the minds of customers."

Not only were more people coming to the state, they also were spending more money. Visitor expenditures rose 8.9 percent last month, to $1 billion.

U.S. East visitors spent $324.1 million, up 18.1 percent from the year before. U.S.

West visitors spent the most — $377.5 million — a 5.4 percent drop from July 2003. Japanese visitor spending rose the most, 28.5 percent, to $177.4 million.

While expenditures and arrivals grew, average length of stay fell 5.3 percent, to 9.29 days, compared with last year.

At the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hawai'i hotel, Kwan said he's noticed more people willing to spend money for luxury accommodations. "But they also expect a good value," he added.

More visitors came to vacation (up 10.4 percent), honeymoon (up 13.1 percent), get married (up 13.8 percent) and visit friends or relatives (up 8.6 percent) compared with July 2003. Nearly 62 percent of visitors last month had been to Hawai'i before.

For the year through July, about 4 million visitors came to the Islands, up 9.6 percent compared with the same period last year.

Industry officials expect the trend to continue through the shoulder season.

"There's a shift going on," Carey said. "The big boost is in the market segment that's staying longer and spending more. This will translate into exceptional business."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at 535-8103 or ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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