Hawai'i visitor arrivals increase by 14 percent

By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer

What a difference a year can make. With the SARS scare mostly gone and the Iraq war no longer as much of a deterrent, tourism arrivals in Hawai'i jumped 14.4 percent in April and Japanese arrivals were up more than 50 percent.

Hawai'i tourism officials noted 55.4 percent growth in Japanese arrivals in April. "I think we've finally turned a corner" in Japanese tourism, said Gov. Linda Lingle's tourism liaison, Marsha Weinert. Japanese arrivals make up about 73 percent of international visitors and about 20 percent of visitors overall. Associated Press

"When we were looking for hotels, most of them were sold out," said Alena Kotek, a visitor from Vancouver, British Columbia. The plane "was packed," added Heidi Quenga, who comes from Long Beach, Calif., to Hawai'i with her friends once or twice a year to shop and relax.

Gov. Linda Lingle's tourism liaison, Marsha Wienert, said more than 4,000 jobs have been added to tourism-related industries in Hawai'i in the first four months of the year, in areas such as retail, accommodations and food and beverage services. Hotel room-tax collection rose 14.7 percent.

In all 548,599 visitors came to the state in April and spent $748.7 million for a total of more than $3.2 billion in the first four months of the year.

"It's been a fantastic April, but more importantly it's been a very good year where tourism is concerned," Wienert said.

The recovery from a difficult stretch for tourism last year shows in the numbers. There was particularly strong 55.4 percent growth in Japanese arrivals last month, along with an 8 percent increase in arrivals from the Mainland Western region and a 5.1 percent increase in arrivals from the Mainland Eastern region.

"I think we've finally turned a corner" in Japanese tourism, Wienert said. Japanese arrivals make up about 73 percent of international visitors and about 20 percent of visitors overall.

The tourist count comparisons to 2002 and 2003 are positive, but total arrivals in April are still shy of the visitor counts in the same month of 2000 and 2001.

"Business has been good and continues to look good," said David Carey, chief executive of Outrigger Enterprises Inc. "The year-over-year probably looks better than it might otherwise because we were facing the downturn from the combination of the Gulf War II and SARS last year. Having said that, I'm not going to complain."

O'ahu, which has the largest share of Japanese visitors, had the strongest tourism growth with 19.2 percent growth in visitor arrivals. Kaua'i had a 5.6 percent increase in arrivals, and the Big Island had a 5.5 percent increase.

Rose Cason, who came to Hawai'i from Long Beach with Quenga, said she sends a lot of friends to Hawai'i for vacations.

"It's economically feasible. It's not that far to go," Cason said. "You can just hang loose, be yourself."

Tourist Pamela Mesa said she likes the people of Hawai'i the most.

"The people here are just really, really friendly," Mesa said. "It's just nice to feel that you're welcome, that you're not intruding."

Not every island had tourism growth in April. Maui arrivals were essentially flat with a 0.8 percent decline in arrivals, pulled down by a 9.6 percent drop in international arrivals.

That's likely because of a decrease in Japanese traveling from Honolulu or the Big island to Maui during their vacations because of limited hotel rooms and difficulties with airline schedules, Wienert said.

One high point in the tourism industry is the wedding market, which enjoyed a 48 percent increase in the number of visitors coming to Hawai'i to get married in April. The wedding industry touches a wide range of businesses, from wedding planners to photographers, florists and restaurants and retailers.

A low point is the Canadian market, which makes up about 2 percent of visitor counts. Arrivals from Canada were down 10.6 percent in April.

For the year through April, nearly 2.2 million visitors came to the Islands, up 7.1 percent compared with the year-ago period. That includes increases in arrivals from the Mainland Western region (up 7.2 percent), the Mainland Eastern region (up 8.4 percent) and Japan (up 7.9 percent).

"Prospects for the summer are good," Carey said. "Right now we're enjoying solid business."

Carey said he is worried about potential problems from the stock market and terrorism scares.

"Talk of terrorist activity at the national level is never good for business," Carey said.

But he said one plus is the attention the state received from the television show "American Idol."

"That has to be positive for the state," Carey said. "It's great publicity having the guy talk about the flower in the girl's hair. It's just great."

Stan Brown, Marriott's Pacific islands vice president, said this summer will be the strongest for tourism in at least four years.

"It's not a one-month trend; it's now a three- or four-month positive trend that we've seen," Brown said.

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