Visitor arrivals, spending post November records
STAR-ADVERTISER
Couples took a morning walk near the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach Resort in June. A robust November has Hawaii’s tourism industry bearing down on a fifth straight record year.
A robust November has Hawaii’s tourism industry bearing down on a fifth straight record year.
Visitor arrivals rose 4.7 percent to an all-time November high of 696,890, according to preliminary data released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Spending increased for the sixth straight month with a 5.6 percent gain to a November-record $1.2 billion. The year-to-date visitor arrival and spending numbers of 8.1 million and $14 billion, respectively, are easily within reach of last year’s record numbers of 8.6 million and $15.2 billion.
The full-year numbers, which will be released in late January, are expected to easily surpass the previous record set last year because of an influx of visitors for the Pearl Harbor 75th anniversary, the Honolulu Marathon and high demand during the holiday season.
“What makes November’s results especially rewarding is the excellent showing from Japan, Canada and our other international markets as a whole to complement another strong month from the U.S. mainland,” George Szigeti, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, said in a statement. “December looks to be an outstanding month for tourism and will further add to this total.”
Through November, Hawaii’s tourism industry has generated $1.64 billion in state tax revenue, which is $64 million more than last year, Szigeti added.
All the major international markets showed gains in November with Japan showing renewed strength with visitor spending up 13 percent to $187.5 million and arrivals up 4.6 percent to 125,982. Canada spending jumped 7.5 percent to $85.3 million with arrivals ahead 3.1 percent to 44,371. The “all other markets” category, which includes Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, China and Europe among others, saw spending increase 11.4 percent to $236.4 million and arrivals rise 9.5 percent to 98,544.
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On the domestic front, U.S. West, the state’s top market, had a 5.1 percent increase in spending to $457.3 million and a 2.3 percent gain in arrivals to 293,744.
The U.S. East market was mixed with spending declining 4.5 percent to $246.3 million while arrivals gained 4.5 percent 124,328.
One response to “Visitor arrivals, spending post November records”
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Yes, visitors see photos like those heading this article and flock here — in record droves, paradoxically.
The churned-up sand above the wash of the waves reveals the ground truth of today’s Waikiki. Perhaps that photo was taken in the midst of our most recent tsunami warning. It certainly doesn’t reflect the daily reality of the ongoing loss of the soul of our ‘aina.