The 2003 tally comes in slightly below the 6.39 million visitors who came to Hawai'i in 2002, when post-Sept. 11 effects stunted travel in the first several months of the year.

Total visitor days in 2003 hit a record high of 61.9 million, up 3 percent from the previous year. The measure of how many days all visitors spend in the Islands is considered a good indicator of the economic contribution of tourism. Domestic visitor days also set a record at 48.7 million.

This year, the state forecasts 6.8 million visitors will come to Hawai'i, which would make for the second-highest number of visitors on record, behind the 6.9 million visitors in 2000.

According to Gov. Linda Lingle’s tourism liaison, Marsha Wienert, "the visitors from the U.S. west were clearly the backbone of our industry and all indicators show that domestic travel will continue this year at record levels."

The shifting balance in Hawai'i’s tourism industry shows in the numbers last year — domestic arrivals were up 3.2 percent in 2003, while international arrivals fell 9 percent.

The islands of Maui, Moloka'i and Lanai each had more visitors in 2003 than the previous year, while O'ahu, Kaua'i and the Big Island each saw declines in visitor arrivals. O'ahu draws by far the most visitors of any island but is dependent on a large share of Japanese visitors, and posted a 4.9 percent decline in arrivals.

The year 2003 ended with 580,176 visitors coming to Hawai'i in December, up 2.1 percent from the same month in 2002. That includes a 7.4 percent hike in domestic arrivals and a 6.8 percent drop in international arrivals.