The number of visitors arriving in Hawaii edged up in July for the first time since February 2008 but spending continued to drop, down 12.4 percent from last July, according to preliminary statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Despite a 1.3 percent increase in arrivals by air to 621,590 visitors, total visitor expenditure for July 2009 declined due to lower average daily spending by these visitors ($150 per person, down from $176 per person in July 2008).
Total spending by visitors who arrive by air — the vast majority of tourists— in the month of July 2009 was $893 million, down $126.7 million or 12.4 percent from last July,
Total spending by air visitors for the first seven months of 2009 decreased $1.1 billion or 16 percent from year-to-date 2008, to $5.8 billion.
Total visitor days for air and cruise visitors in July 2009 rose 2.8 percent from the same month last year, boosted by a 1.5 percent growth in total arrivals by air and cruise ships to 624,140 visitors. The average length of stay by these visitors was 9.58 days, compared with9.46 days in July 2008.
Among the top four visitor markets, air arrivals from U.S. West rose for the third consecutive month, up 7.7 percent from last July. Air arrivals from U.S. East were down slightly by 0.3 percent. Even though there was a spike in visitor arrivals surrounding the Japanese emperor’s visit in mid-July, Japanese air arrivals ended the month down 9.2 percent. Arrivals by air from Canada were 3.5 percent lower compared with July 2008.
“Increased arrivals reflect the attractive pricing being offered by Hawaii hotels, travel partners and other visitor industry businesses, which is stimulating travel,” said state tourism liaison Marsha Wienert.
However, the downside for the economy and the industry is all the discounts result in reduced visitor spending.