Healthier visitor industry enjoys record April

Terry Miller of Indianapolis made so many purchases on her six-day trip to Hawaii that she had to repack.

"We did a lot of shopping," said Miller, who recently traveled to Hawaii with a group of 10. "My suitcase was overweight."

Miller and her traveling companions, who spent their time on Oahu trying to see and sample everything, represent the new norm for Hawaii’s visitor industry. As the state moves past the economic doldrums of the last recession and global economic downturn, airplanes are fuller, hotel accommodations are tighter, there are waits at some restaurants and activities and cash registers are humming again.

Hawaii set an April rec­ord for visitor arrivals and spending, pumping $1.17 billion into the state’s economy last month, according to statistics released Thursday by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Total visitor spending last month climbed 26.8 percent, or $246.5 million more than April 2011, as more visitors came to Hawaii and spent more each day.

Daily spending by visitors in April rose 10.4 percent to $194 per person. In this category, food and beverage spending grew 10.4 percent, shopping 9.9 percent and lodging 6 percent, said Daniel Na­hoo­pii, HTA director of tourism research.

While spending from Hawaii’s core U.S. West market was up, more than half of the April spending gain came from Oceania and other Asia, which includes China, Korea and Taiwan, Na­hoo­pii said.

The increase in overall visitors also contributed to spending gains, he said. Visitor arrivals in April increased 11.3 percent to 647,194, beating the previous April rec­ord set in 2006 when 618,230 tourists came. A 3.1 percent rise in air seats over last April contributed to the arrivals growth.

"Hawaii’s visitor industry tends to follow a five-year cycle, and it looks like we are nine months or so into the positive," said Jerry Westenhaver, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa. "Barring any negative events, I’d say we have another four years or so of growth to go."

Westenhaver said most Waikiki hotels are about 80 percent to 90 percent full, and retail and hotel investors are bullish on the district.

"Our vendors and wholesalers and the other hotel people have said that they see a good healthy summer and that they expect it to continue into the fall," Westenhaver said. "Hawaii’s visitor industry is hiring."

While the global economy continues to be strained, Westenhaver said travel demand for Hawaii is strong from Europe, Japan, Oceania, Canada and the U.S.

"While recovery has been challenging, and the future of the global market remains unstable, we feel confident that tourism will continue in an upward swing, and are committed to working with the industry, our community and our global marketing partners to achieve our targets for the year," said HTA President and CEO Mike McCartney.

All the Hawaiian Islands saw growth in visitor expenditures and arrivals for April 2012. However, Oahu experienced a 12.9 percent gain in arrivals, the largest visitor rise across the state. A 30 percent increase in international arrivals fueled Oahu’s gain.

"We are happy with the increase in visitor spending in the first five months of the year, and it looks like it will continue on," said Keith Vieira, senior vice president and director of operations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

"Some islands are stronger than the others, especially Waikiki or Oahu. There is still some pickup available on Maui, but overall it’s very strong."

Arrivals from Hawaii’s core U.S. West market rose 3 percent to 277,809 visitors, while spending rose for the eighth straight month. Total April spending from the U.S. West increased by 13.1 percent to $401.1 million.

The quest for a vacation of a lifetime brought Missourians Thelma Gillette and family to Oahu for eight days.

While on Oahu the family took a catamaran ride, snorkeled, toured Pearl Harbor and the USS Missouri, went on a submarine ride and a Navatek dinner cruise, and took surfing lessons, Gillette said.

"We don’t usually do so many activities, but we don’t know when we’ll be back," Gillette said.

Gillette’s daughter Jennifer, 13, even embraced island style at the Hair Wraps, Braiding and Feathers stand at the International Marketplace.

"We’re very busy now," said hair braider Marina Okh­ri­menko. "We opened at the end of last year, and we’ve stayed busy."

Hawaii’s source markets from outside the U.S. West are mostly strong, too. While U.S. East arrivals rose 1.8 percent to 122,792 visitors, spending from these visitors declined by 2 percent to $206.2 million. Arrivals from Japan, Hawaii’s top international market, rose 36.2 percent to 86,685 visitors and in April jumped 45.8 percent to $153.7 million.

Arrivals from Canada rose by 3.3 percent to 45,937, and spending rose 5.5 percent to $84 million. Visitors who came to the islands to cruise rose to 30,972 in April. As many as 15 out-of-state cruise ships came to Hawaii last April, compared with eight in April 2011.

April’s strong visitor industry performance helped push year-to-date arrivals up 9.4 percent to 2.6 million visitors. Likewise, total spending during the first four months of 2012 rose 16.7 percent to $4.78 billion. Visitor performance exceeded the HTA’s visitor spending target by 10.3 percent and its arrivals target by 5.9 percent.