19% Growth for Maui November Tourism; Momentum Continues in 2011

Kamaole Beach in Kihei

By Sonia Isotov

The Hawaii Tourism Authority President/CEO Mike McCartney stated today that November was another strong month for visitor arrivals and expenditures on all island; 2011 tourism momentum expected to continue.

“November was another strong month with double-digit growth in visitor arrivals and expenditures on all islands.  We are most pleased to see more than 30 percent growth in visitor spending.  This is good news for the entire state and especially our Neighbor Island communities which are heavily dependent upon tourism.”

Visitor arrivals increased on all islands compared to November 2009, led by Maui (+18.9%), followed by Hawai‘i Island (+16.4%), O‘ahu (+15.7%), Lāna‘i (+15.5%), Kaua‘i (+14.6%), and Moloka‘i (+7.4%).

Visitor spending on O‘ahu, for the month of November 2010, rose 27.7 percent to $497.1 million, followed by Maui (+36.7% to $252.6 million), Hawai‘i Island (+36.9% to $124.8 million), Kaua‘i (+19.7% to $88.3 million), Lāna’i (+38.5% to $6.2 million), and Moloka‘i (+33.5% to $2.5 million).

And total Maui visitor arrivals are up 10% year 2010 thru November over last year.

McCartney also noted that Hawaii’s rate of recovery is well ahead of other competitive destinations such as Mexico and the Caribbean.  However, an analysis by Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) research staff shows that Hawaii is only beginning to see signs of recovery, and Hawaii still has a long way to go to offset the declines over the last two years. 

This means that, more than ever, Hawaii will need to continue it’s focused marketing efforts to maintain the momentum achieved in boosting arrivals and increasing visitor spending.

McCarthy said this includes creating demand to recapture air seats lost after the end of service by ATA and Aloha Airlines, as well as increasing direct service to Oahu and the Neighbor Islands. In 2010, these efforts contributed to increases in new air service from the U.S. Mainland, Canada and Korea. Maui and Hawaii Island also experienced the greatest gains in additional air seats, including the resumption of direct service from the U.S. Mainland to Hilo starting in June 2011.

These efforts have contributed to Hawaii experiencing year-over-year growth in visitor arrivals each month in 2010.  And projections show that Hawaii should exceed the HTA’s annual target for arrivals by a comfortable margin at the end of the year.

Heading into 2011, the HTA anticipates Hawaii continuing to reap the benefits of the collective HTA and industry efforts to rebuild tourism and strengthen the state’s overall economy.  HTA’s contractor for the North American market, the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, along with our industry partners, will be launching comprehensive efforts in key geographic markets during the first quarter of 2011.  These efforts are expected to continue to drive bookings and bring visitors and their spending to Hawaii throughout the year.

Find the monthly visitor statistical reports at the HTA.