Hawaii Tourism Revenues Sink on Slightly Fewer Visitors

The number of visitors arriving in Hawaii in April fell just slightly but spending by those who came dropped sharply.

The state on Wednesday said there were 1.3 percent fewer total visitors last month than in April 2008. However, the 541,610 visitors last month spent 12.3 percent less for a loss of more than $108 million.

Tourists spent an average of $160 a day, down from $186, according to preliminary statistics by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Easter and spring break fell in April this year, which state tourism liaison Marsha Wienert says helped to boost the number of visitor arrivals for the month. But steep discounting is pulling down expenditures, she said.

“Realizing the need to compete in today’s global tourism market, Hawaii’s travel industry is offering some very attractive package pricing in the marketplace which is helping to encourage travelers to visit Hawaii,” she said. “However the steeply discounted packages are affecting visitor spending and per person per day expenditures.”

She said for the remainder of the year, the health of the visitor industry and Hawaii’s economy will be dependent on visitor spending and not necessarily on visitor arrivals.

Of the four major islands, Kauai had the steepest drop-off in arrivals with an 11.2 percent decline. The Garden Island was followed by Maui at 9 percent.

The Big Island and Oahu had small increases — 1.9 percent and 0.7 percent respectively.

From the top visitor markets, air arrivals from the U.S. West declined 1.6 percent, while air arrivals from the U.S. East fell 6.5 percent.

Arrivals from Japan rose 8.8 percent, the largest increase since March 2005. Arrivals by air from Canada were up 6.9 percent, the first increase since October 2008.

Year-to-date, arrivals by air totaled just under 2.1 million visitors, an 11.5 percent drop compared to the same period last year. The average daily spending was $168 per person, down from $181 per person from the first four months of 2008.

5/27/2009 8:53 PM HONOLULU (AP)