HTA News Release: Hawaii Visitor Statistics Released for November 2018

Posted on Dec 27, 2018 in Latest Department News

HONOLULU – Visitors to the Hawaiian Islands spent a total of $1.29 billion in November 2018, which was nearly flat (-0.3%) compared to November 2017, according to preliminary statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA).

In November, growth in visitor spending from the U.S. West (+6.5% to $533.1 million), U.S. East (+9.3% to $292.3 million) and Canada (+2.6% to $99.6 million) markets was offset by decreases from Japan (-0.4% to $182.7 million) and All Other International Markets (-26.5% to $175.3 million).

On a statewide level, average daily visitor spending was down (-3.2% to $193 per person) in November year-over-year. Visitors from U.S. East (+4.0%) and Canada (+2.2%) spent more per day, while visitors from Japan (-3.8%) and All Other International Markets (-12.1%) spent less.

Total visitor arrivals rose to 781,990 (+4.3%) in November compared to a year ago, with growth realized in arrivals from both air service (+4.1% to 770,126) and cruise ships (+21.1% to 11,864). Total visitor days¹ increased by 3.0 percent. The average daily census² (i.e. number of visitors on any given day) in November was 221,935 (+3.0%).

More visitors came by air from U.S. West (+11.3%), U.S. East (+7.5%), Japan (+3.1%) and Canada (+0.7%) in November, while fewer visitors came from All Other International Markets (-19.7%) versus last year.

Oahu, Maui and Kauai all recorded increases in both visitor spending and visitor arrivals in November year-over-year. Visitor spending on Oahu grew slightly to $609.1 million (+0.9%) with visitor arrivals increasing to 456,121 (+2.8%). Maui saw visitor spending grow to $364.6 million (+1.7%) and visitor arrivals to 225,178 (+4.1%). Visitor spending on Kauai increased to $141.7 million (+13.9%) and visitor arrivals to 102,516 (+6.4%). The island of Hawaii recorded declines in both visitor spending of $154.4 million (-18.3%) and visitor arrivals of 123,032 (-10.0%).

A total of 1,035,694 trans-Pacific air seats served the Hawaiian Islands in November, up 7.3 percent

year-over-year. Growth in scheduled air seats from Canada (+15.8%), U.S. West (+10.8%), Japan (+10.7%), Oceania (+2.7%) and U.S. East (+0.4%) offset fewer air seats from Other Asia markets (-37.9%).

Year-to-Date 2018

Year-to-date through the first 11 months of 2018, visitors to the Hawaiian Islands spent a total of $16.22 billion, an increase of 8.0 percent compared to the same period last year.

Hawaii’s four largest visitor markets, U.S. West (+9.9% to $6.01 billion), U.S. East (+9.0% to $4.13 billion), Japan (+1.9% to $2.12 billion) and Canada (+6.6% to $960.7 million), all reported growth in visitor spending compared to the same period last year. Combined visitor spending from All Other International Markets also increased (+8.0% to $2.95 billion).

Year-to-date through November, total visitor arrivals increased (+6.1% to 9,044,488) versus last year, with growth from U.S. West (+9.7% to 3,822,064), U.S. East (+8.3% to 1,956,288), Canada (+3.4% to 465,497) and All Other International Markets (+3.5% to 1,249,624) offsetting fewer visitors from Japan (-1.5% to 1,440,289).

All four larger Hawaiian Islands realized growth in visitor spending over the first 11 months of 2018. Visitor arrivals increased on Oahu, Maui and Kauai but declined slightly on the island of Hawaii.

A total of 12,066,873 trans-Pacific air seats served the Hawaiian Islands year-to-date through November, up 8.8 percent from the same period last year.

Other Highlights:

S. West: Visitor arrivals increased from the Pacific (+11.9%) and Mountain (+8.4%) regions in November compared to last year, with growth realized from Alaska (+22.5%), Nevada (+14.0%), Washington (+13.0%), Colorado (+12.0%), California (+11.8%) and Arizona (+11.5%). Through the first 11 months of 2018, arrivals rose from the Mountain (+12.4%) and Pacific (+9.3%) regions versus the same period last year.
S. East: With the exception of New England (-4.4%), all regions recorded growth in visitor arrivals in November versus a year ago. Year-to-date, arrivals were up from every region, including growth from the two largest regions, East North Central (+9.5%) and South Atlantic (+9.1%).
Japan: More visitors stayed in hotels (+2.7%) in November while stays in timeshares (-2.2%) were down compared to last year. Additionally, more visitors made their own travel arrangements (+21.9%) while fewer visitors purchased group tours (-14.6%) and package trips (-6.5%).
Canada: Visitor arrivals on international flights increased (+8.6%), while fewer visitors came on U.S. domestic flights (-26.7%), in November year-over-year. Flying directly from Canada to Hawaii was more affordable than crossing from Canada into the U.S. to take domestic flights. Visitor stays declined in hotels (-4.1%) and condominiums (-5.2%) but increased in rental homes (+43.8%) in November compared to a year ago.
MCI: Total visitor arrivals who came in November for meetings, conventions and incentives (MCI) decreased (-8.6% to 36,014) from last year. Fewer arrivals attended conventions (-27.5%) and corporate meetings (-4.2%) but more arrivals came for incentive trips (+23.7%). Year-to-date, total MCI visitors increased (+2.0% to 462,444) versus the same period last year.

[1] Aggregate number of days stayed by all visitors.

[2] Average daily census is the average number of visitors present on a single day.

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About the Hawaii Tourism Authority

The Hawaii Tourism Authority is responsible for strategically managing the State of Hawaii’s marketing initiatives to support tourism. HTA’s goal is to optimize tourism’s benefits for Hawaii, while being attentive to the interests of travelers, the community and visitor industry. Established in 1998 to support Hawaii’s leading industry and largest employer, HTA continually strives to help ensure the sustainability of tourism’s success.

For more information about HTA, please visit www.hawaiitourismauthority.org. Follow updates about HTA on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (@HawaiiHTA) and its YouTube Channel.

Media Contacts:

Charlene Chan

Director of Communications

Hawaii Tourism Authority

808-973-2272

[email protected]

Jennifer Chun

Director of Tourism Research

Hawaii Tourism Authority

808-973-9446

[email protected]