January proved to be another good month for Hawaii’s tourism industry, with a nearly 97% recovery in arrivals compared with 2019. The rebound was powered by demand from U.S. travelers, up 18.6% from 2019.

The COVID-19 pandemic upended patterns of tourism, making predictions more difficult, and many in the local visitor industry had raised warnings for 2023. And visitor numbers did soften during the latter part of 2022, particularly on Oahu, where Japanese tourists have been a pillar of the tourist economy. But U.S. visitors, who book trips closer to arrivals, continued to show enthusiasm and spend money in the islands.