Despite economic uncertainty and lagging consumer confidence, North American leisure and business travelers are expected to make more trips to Hawaii next year.

"The fiscal cliff is dominating many people’s thoughts and it won’t be resolved without pain and we’ll have to determine how it affects our customers," John Monahan, president of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, told members of the visitor industry who gathered on Wednesday for the contractor’s annual meeting.

"But business has been good. American consumers’ personal consumption increased in (the third quarter)," Monahan said. "As we look back, 2012 is going to go down as a very good year."

Currently 1 in 9 outbound travelers from North America are headed to Hawaii and demand is growing across leisure and group markets, he said. Airlift is approaching historic highs, with about 7.28 million seats from North American cities planned for 2012. Similarly, the 2012 forecast for arrivals and spending were set at just under 2007 levels, he said.

This year, through October, Hawaii welcomed 4.5 million visitors from North America who spent $7.4 billion. The market is on pace to reach 2012 targets set by the Hawaii Tourism Authority of 5.3 million visitors and $8.8 billion in spending, which represent increases of 4.4 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively.

Conditions are right for Hawaii’s North American leisure and group business to continue growing, said Chris Kam, HVCB senior director of market insights. People are more interested in travel than they were a year ago and they have more time to travel, Kam said.

Personal financial situations are better for travelers and they perceive travel as more affordable; however, Kam said that cost is still a concern.

While total travel costs for air and hotel to Hawaii were up 7.3 percent through June, he said demand into 2013 will support the increases.

"The positives outweigh the negatives," he said.

For instance, 22 percent of North American travelers say they are "very likely" to make a trip to Hawaii in the next 24 months, according to a survey by the U.S. Travel Association.

"This was a record level since doing the survey in 2007," Kam said.

It’s also a positive sign for Hawaii that meeting planners say the number of meetings, event budgets and attendance are on the rise, said Mike Murray, HVCB vice president of sales and marketing for meetings, conventions and incentives.

Also, planners seem less concerned about the possible negative perception attached to holding an event in Hawaii during a slow economy, Murray said.

According to the 2012 MPI Business Barometer, only 14 percent of meeting planners consider public perception important to selecting destinations, he said.

"In Hawaii, the boondoggle perception still continues to be an issue," he said. "It’s good to know that perception is not necessarily the main concern for where corporate America might place their meeting."

HVCB has set aggressive goals for Hawaii’s $1.1 billion meetings, conventions and incentive market through 2015. Next year, HVCB wants to see citywide group business bring in 540,000 room nights, a 12.29 percent gain from the prior year. HVCB wants to bring in a combined 735,000 room nights in 2014 and 820,000 in 2015.

HVCB hopes to achieve its goals by extending its "Living in the Moment" marketing campaign. HVCB also hopes to use factors such as geography, age, values, travel research and booking preferences to drill down to its target customers.

"We want them to say, ‘I’ve got to get (to Hawaii) and I’ve got to get there soon,’" said Jay Talwar, HVCB vice president for marketing.

Brand messages are tied to specific islands and specific kinds of travelers, such as avid travelers or those who connect best with arts and culture, the outdoors and recreation, honeymoons and weddings, or golf, he said.

"In general, our target traveler is looking for a break from the pace of life that they struggle with at work," he said.

HVCB’s new brand positions, which are displayed in print and social media, television and throughout the travel trade industry, also are geared to balancing the distribution of North American visitors across the Hawaiian Islands and attracting more first-timers and younger travelers, Talwar said.

"Our Facebook efforts have moved Hawaii ahead of its competitors," he said. "We have close to 1 million fans and every post that we make gets 25,000 likes and over 1,500 shares and over 1,200 comments."

Everything from the color of Hawaii’s water to waterfalls, bamboo forests, choice hiking spots, iconic imagery, volcanoes and sunsets resonates with target travelers, Talwar said.

"They are looking for unique experiences that can only be had in Hawaii," he said.