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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Arrivals up 6.8% on 'strong' demand for Isles


By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

The number of tourists visiting Hawai'i last month grew nearly 7 percent from a year ago as the state's No. 1 industry recorded its 13th consecutive month of record arrivals from the Mainland.

The latest numbers show continued growth in a year that is expected to see a new high of more than 7 million visitors.

But recognizing the state will eventually reach its capacity, the visitor industry has been focusing on growing tourism by luring more upscale, higher-spending travelers.

"The end goal for everyone is finding that visitor that's willing to spend that little extra amount more for a quality vacation destination," said Marsha Wienert, state tourism liaison.

Dave Green, pausing by his Woody's Hot Dogs Hawaii kiosk on Lewers Street, said business last month was "pretty good."

"I think there's more coming from the Mainland this year," he said. "I think the Japanese traffic is off a bit but is picked up by Mainland visitors."

A total of 573,212 tourists visited Hawai'i last month, up 6.8 percent over February 2004, according to data released yesterday by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Mainland visitors totaled a record 403,552, an 8.7 percent increase. International arrivals grew 2.7 percent to 169,660 visitors.

Total expenditures by air visitors last month totaled $864.2 million, up 4.1 percent over last year. The average length of stay fell by 1.2 percent, but increased arrivals lifted visitor days by 5.5 percent.

Helping to boost Mainland visitor arrivals last month was the NFL Pro Bowl, which attracted about 25,400 visitors, up from the 22,000 visitors for the 2004 game, according to a study commissioned by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

"The demand is still very strong for Hawai'i," Wienert said. "Sitting here today, we don't see anything that's going to dampen that trend."

The state forecast 13.5 percent growth in the number of airline seats to Hawai'i from March through May, and ATA and Southwest airlines recently expanded their code-sharing agreement to include flights from Phoenix to Hawai'i.

Honeymooners Nathan and Fiona Karas fall into the romance demographic that tourism officials are targeting.

The Australian couple picked Hawai'i "because it's coastal and we wanted to experience Island culture," Nathan Karas said.

The couple is spending time on O'ahu to shop and then will take in more cultural activities on the Big Island and Maui.

U.S. East visitor arrivals increased by 11.4 percent, and U.S. West arrivals were up 6.5 percent.

"When you combine that with an increase of 5.7 percent in Japanese arrivals, February was an outstanding month for the visitor industry," Wienert said.

The Big Island saw the largest growth in visitors with 20.2 percent. It was followed by a 6.9 percent visitor increase on Maui and a 3.6 percent increase on O'ahu.

Moloka'i saw the largest rate of decrease, with 24.6 percent fewer visitors. The number of visitors to Lana'i and Kaua'i fell 15.5 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

More people visited Hawai'i for vacation, to honeymoon, attend sports events and for meetings, conventions and incentives.

A total of 42,634 visitors have toured the Islands so far this year on two Hawai'i-based cruise ships and 12 out-of-state ships, up 32.5 percent from February last year when there were 13 out-of-state cruise ships and one Hawai'i-based ship.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at 535-2470 or larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.