Visitor industry officials say they see signs of a healthy summer travel season.  The state’s Visitor count is on the rise with Maui, Kauai and the Big Island benefitting from a 7.3 percent increase in visitors from the U.S. West.  More than half of those visitors spent their entire stay on the neighbor islands in June.  On Oahu, there was a boost in international visitors with a 33.5 percent increase, led by strong arrivals from Japan. 

Hawaii Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert said, the summer travel season, “combined with increases in the number of domestic and international airline seats positively impacted Hawai’i's tourism industry and resulted in increases in visitor arrivals, total per person per day spending and overall visitor spending for the second month in a row.” 

“The continued improvement in the visitor industry is welcomed by businesses and residents throughout our state and reinforces our Administration’s optimism in Hawai’i's improving economy,” said Wienert.

“We are expecting Hawai’i's summer season to continue to outpace last year, thanks to the successful marketing campaign plans that have been implemented with our travel partners.  Although we still have a ways to go to make up for what has been lost during these challenging economic times, our visitor industry is on the right path and there is reason for increased confidence in Hawai’i's economic recovery,” said Wienert.

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