Hawai'i's robust tourism industry continued to break records last month, with visitor arrivals reaching a new June high.

Hawai'i received 651,639 visitors in June, up 5.5 percent over the same month last year, according to data released yesterday by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Tourists on average spent slightly less daily and per trip, but the increase in arrivals helped push total visitor expenditures up 3.7 percent to $1 billion.

"June was great," said Phil Feliciano, owner of Cruiser Phil's Volcano Riders, which offers downhill bike tours at Haleakala and hires a handful of extra employees for the summer. "It seems like everyone that I've spoken to has had a great June. And for what it's worth, July is very decent, too. ... Best year yet, absolutely."

Visitor arrivals for the first half of this year totaled nearly 3.6 million, a midyear record.

"June's continued strong performance, from both the domestic and international markets, is unprecedented," said state tourism liaison Marsha Wienert. "We are definitely on pace to break all records in arrivals, visitor days and visitor spending."

The state has projected a record 7.3 million visitors to Hawai'i this year. The state's visitor figures come one day after Hospitality Advisors LLC reported that hotels statewide set midyear records in room revenue, average daily rates and revenue per available room.

"It's been an exceptional year for us, not only during the month of June but for the entire 2005 year thus far," said Kelvin Bloom, president of Aston Hotels & Resorts. "We're enjoying a very good summer. July will end the month, I think, very well, and August advance bookings look strong. Though we'll experience the traditional slowdown in the fall, I don't expect that to be dramatic. I don't see any reason for anything but continued optimism through the end of the year.

"The Mainland visitors continue to strengthen in terms of arrivals and that has boded well for Hawai'i, and the continued return of the Japanese visitor has been very beneficial as well. I think the competitive airfares certainly doesn't hurt and the increased lift, particularly from the Mainland, has helped. And so it's really a number of factors, and Hawai'i continues to be a visitor destination that people from all over the world seek."

Visitors from the western half of the U.S. totaled 279,054, a 7.9 percent increase from June of last year. The number of visitors from the eastern half rose 4.9 percent to 181,884.

Japanese arrivals increased 0.9 percent; Canadian arrivals declined by 5.8 percent.

The average length of stay decreased 0.2 percent, but the higher number of tourists lifted visitor days by 5.3 percent. Visitor spending per day fell 1.6 percent to $168.50; spending per trip fell 1.7 percent to $1,537.40.

All islands saw more visitors. The Big Island had the highest growth, 16.4 percent, followed by Moloka'i, 13.5 percent; Kaua'i, 8.5 percent; O'ahu, 6.2 percent; Lana'i, 2.2 percent; and Maui, 0.2 percent.

Cruise ship passengers so far this year totaled 128,439, a 31 percent growth over the same period last year. The visitors were aboard two Hawai'i-based ships, the Norwegian Wind and the Pride of Aloha, and 30 out-of-state cruise ships. At this point last year one Hawai'i home-ported ship, the Norwegian Star, and 36 out-of-state cruise ships toured the Islands.