Hawaii will finish the year with the most crowded planes to and from North America in its history, indicating demand is strong and will likely continue to expand next year.

The improved load factors along with signs that travelers are willing to pay higher hotel rates and airfares are the basis for an optimistic outlook from the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, which held its annual marketing meeting Wednesday at the Sheraton Waikiki.

"Load factors post-2006 have continually improved," said John Monahan, the HVCB’s president and chief executive. "In 2011, we will hit 87.1 percent, an all-time high. That’s 3 percent higher than 2008, the year that we lost Aloha and ATA."

Also positive is the continued increase in 2011 arrivals and average daily hotel rates from the doldrums of 2009, he said. Going into fall, both were up more than 8 percent for the year, Monahan said.

"This fourth quarter will be the best ever from North America," Monahan said. "While uncertainty continues, travel demand for Hawaii is high."

As such, the Hawaii Tourism Authority has set ambitious targets for the HVCB in 2012. Next year, the HVCB is expected to grow spending 2.5 percent from the U.S. West, 2.2 percent from the U.S. East and 5.8 percent from Canada. Arrival goals for 2012 include a 1.2 percent gain from the U.S. West, a 1.1 percent gain from the U.S. East and a 4.5 percent gain from Canada.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority contracts with the HVCB to market Hawaii in North America.

Despite the positive signs in the market, the HVCB and other Hawaii tourism marketers will face continued challenges, Monahan said. Concerns abound about the housing market, the debt crisis, the possibility of increased taxes and a double-dip recession, he said. And, consumer confidence, which should be greater than 90 percent in a healthy economy, is 56 percent.

"The playing field doesn’t look very pretty and every Americans’ spending plans are on hold," Monahan said.

Still, the HVCB expects that Hawaii will get its fair share of travelers in 2012. According to travel sentiment surveys, about 25 percent more potential tourists are interested in traveling than they were a year ago; however, about the same number said they were more concerned about costs, said Jay Talwar, HVCB senior vice president of marketing.

"Considering all the obstacles that we had to clear, its going to be a great year in retrospect, and we look forward to a better year in 2012," Talwar said.

The HVCB will use newspapers, magazines, TV, social media and the Internet to deliver brand messaging such as its new "Living in the moment on the island of …" campaign, which seeks to match travelers to the Hawaiian Island that would most fulfill their holiday dreams, he said. Public relations and consumer and travel seller education efforts will provide support, Talwar said. However, a key component of HVCB’s marketing this year will be sales blitzes in Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Ore., San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, Calif., Los Angeles and San Diego from Jan. 23 to Feb. 3 and from Sept. 10 to 21, he said.

The success of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, held in Honolulu Nov. 7 to 13, will continue to figure prominently into marketing for HVCB’s meetings, conventions and incentives market, said Michael Murray, vice president of sales and marketing for HVCB’s Corporate Meetings and Incentives Division.

Through October the meetings, conventions and incentives market was up 22.3 percent to 365,136 arrivals, Murray said.