Maui Visitor Spending, Arrivals Up in November 2019
Maui saw increases in visitor spending (+4.5% to $381.0 million), daily spending (+5.5%) and visitor arrivals (+3.0% to 233,631) in November of 2019, according to new information released today by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.
Visitor spending rose 4.5 percent on Maui to $381.0 million in November 2019, according to preliminary statistics released by the HTA. Visitor spending includes lodging, interisland airfare, shopping, food, car rental and other expenses while in Hawaiʻi.
The report also showed that daily spending on Maui was higher (+5.5% to $206 per person) compared to the previous year.
Visitor arrivals were up in November on Maui (+3.0% to 233,631) but a decrease in length of stay (-3.8% to 7.91 days) led to a slight drop in visitor days (-0.9%), according to the report. There were more visitors to Maui from the US West (+9.1%) and US East (+3.8%) offsetting fewer visitors from Japan (-17.8%) and Canada (-4.9%). The average daily census was 61,617 visitors (-0.9%) in November, according to the HTA.
Through November 2019, visitor spending on Maui increased (+1.1% to $4.61 billion) as growth in visitor arrivals (+5.1% to 2,795,637) offset lower daily spending (-1.6%).
Events at the 2018 Kapalua Wine & Food Festival’s Grand Tasting event. Courtesy file photo.
Statewide, visitors to the Hawaiian Islands spent a total of $1.33 billion in November 2019, an increase of 3.4 percent compared to November 2018, according to the report.
Tourism dollars from the Transient Accommodations Tax helped to fund a number of community events statewide during November, including the Hawaiʻi International Film Festival, the Kauaʻi Old Time Gathering, and the XTERRA Trail Run World Championship. Tourism dollars also helped to fund a series of symposiums statewide in partnership with Hoʻola Nā Pua, aimed at educating Hawaiʻi’s visitor industry about how to recognize and report sex trafficking.
The HTA reports that in November, visitor spending rose from US West (+5.3% to $563.7 million), US East (+4.9% to $305.0 million) and Japan (+5.7% to $181.2 million) but declined from Canada (-2.6% to $98.6 million) and All Other International Markets (-4.6% to $173.4 million) compared to a year ago.
On a statewide level, average daily visitor spending increased (+3.3% to $197 per person) compared to November 2018. Daily spending by visitors from Japan (+3.1% to $253 per person), US East (+2.0% to $222 per person), US West (+2.9% to $178 per person), Canada (+4.3% to $165 per person) and All Other International Markets (+7.2% to $214) were higher than last year.
Total visitor arrivals rose 4.2 percent to 811,382 visitors in November, supported by growth in arrivals from air service (+3.7% to 794,841) and arrivals by cruise ships (+39.6% to 16,541). However, a shorter average length of stay (-4.0% to 8.31 days) by visitor from most markets resulted in no growth in total visitor days1 (+0.1%). The average daily census, or the number of visitors on any given day in November 2019 was 224,758 (+0.1%), according to the report.
Among the four larger islands, Oʻahu recorded increased visitor spending (+3.4% to $628.8 million) in November, boosted by growth in visitor arrivals (+4.6% to 470,404) and higher daily spending (+4.6%). The island of Hawaiʻi saw growth in visitor spending (+6.9% to $162.1 million), visitor arrivals (+7.8% to 132,814) and daily spending (+1.3%). Kauaʻi recorded a decline in visitor spending (-3.7% to $137.6 million) due to lower daily spending (-2.1%) while visitor arrivals (+0.1% to 104,517) were comparable to a year ago.
A total of 1,073,083 trans-Pacific air seats serviced the Hawaiian Islands in November, an increase of 3.6 percent from November 2018. Growth in air seats from U.S. East (+9.3%), U.S. West (+8.2%) and Other Asia (+5.6%) offset decreases from Oceania (-14.3%), Canada (-12.3%) and Japan (-4.1%).
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