The state released its final accounting of last year's tourism numbers yesterday and confirmed what most in the industry already knew: 2005 was a record year on many levels.

Hawai'i's tourism industry broke records for expenditures, the number of days tourists stayed and the number of visitor arrivals.

Records also were set for industry employment and state and county tax revenue from tourism, according to the report prepared by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

"It's all at a record high," said Marsha Wienert, state tourism liaison. "It all tells you how vital the tourism sector is to our state overall."

Hawai'i's visitor industry has dashed prior records each of the past two years, helped by a healthy U.S. economy and increases in North American visitors. The state hosted 7.49 million tourists last year, a 7.2 percent increase from a year earlier. This year gains have started to slow and some in the industry have begun wondering if 2006 will top last year's numbers.

Besides a new high mark for arrivals, other 2005 records include: