80
More visitors came to Hawaii in July than any other month in state history.
There were no unsightly sewage spills or storm runoffs to deter visitors last month as arrivals jumped 5.6 percent to a record 816,345 and spending rose 4 percent to $1.42 billion, according to preliminary data released Wednesday by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
The strong month boosted arrivals and spending for the first seven months of the year up 4.2 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively, as the state remained on pace for its fourth consecutive record year in both those categories. The previous record for visitor arrivals was last July with 772,808.
“The growth we have been experiencing is keeping us on track for another milestone year for Hawaii’s visitor industry, ” HTA President and Chief Executive George Szigeti said in a statement. “While the growth is not as significant as in previous years, we are still projecting to reach new records in spending and arrivals for 2015.”
The U.S. West region, the state’s largest tourism market, led the way with a 7.2 percent jump in visitors to 354,408. The U.S. East also was solid, up 4.9 percent to 186,095.
Japan, plagued by a weak yen, managed a 2.6 percent increase to 134,103 even though it is still down 1.4 percent year to date. Japan still remains Hawaii’s largest international market.
Canada, albeit starting from a lower base, grew 9.5 percent to 26,989 and is nearly even for the year, down 0.4 percent.
Other markets, which include Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Europe and Latin America, rose 3.2 percent to 111,896.
Despite the gain in visitor arrivals, only the U.S. West saw higher personal daily spending — a 4.3 percent increase to $162 per person, per day. Total spending in the U.S. West, though, jumped 10.8 percent to $539.1 million. It was a mixed bag in the other major sectors as the so-called “other markets” boosted spending 4.6 percent to $255.5 million and Canada rose 3.6 percent to $47.3 million. Japan spending, however, fell 5.4 percent to $194.6 million and is now down 10.1 percent for the year. U.S. East spending slipped 0.4 percent to $382.4 million.
