Maui visitor arrivals still down in March 2024, but at its highest level since the August 2023 wildfires

There were 206,049 visitors to Maui in March 2024, down significantly compared to 276,485 visitors (-25.5%) in March 2023 and 271,934 visitors (-24.2%) in March 2019, according to preliminary data from the state Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism.

“The total visitor arrivals to Maui at 206,049 in March 2024 were the highest since the Maui wildfires. More than 75% of the Maui visitor industry recovered as of March 2024 when compared with pre-wildfire figures,” said DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka.

Visitor spending on Maui was $469.4 million in March 2024, compared to $619.9 million (-24.3%) in March 2023 and $443.3 million (+5.9%) in March 2019. The average daily census on Maui was 53,708 visitors in March 2024, compared to 70,111 visitors (-23.4%) in March 2023 and 69,349 visitors (-22.6%) in March 2019.

In the first quarter of 2024, there were 562,354 visitors to Maui, compared to 725,969 visitors (-22.5%) in the first quarter of 2023 and 726,959 visitors (-22.6%) in the first quarter of 2019. For the first quarter of 2024, total visitor spending was $1.42 billion, compared to $1.79 billion (-20.7%) in the first quarter of 2023 and $1.33 billion (+6.4%) in the first quarter of 2019.

Statewide, total visitor arrivals and total visitor spending in March 2024 declined in comparison to March 2023.

“US visitor arrivals in March 2024 were the highest since August 2023 and 3.3% higher than the arrivals of March 2019,” said Tokioka.

There were 855,537 visitors to the Hawaiian Islands in March 2024, down 5% from a year ago. Total visitor spending measured in nominal dollars was $1.76 billion, which was a drop of 4.2% compared to March 2023. When compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, March 2024 total visitor arrivals represent a 92.1% recovery from March 2019 and total visitor spending was higher than March 2019 ($1.49 billion, +18.2%).

There were 62,912 visitors from Japan in March 2024, which was up significantly compared to March 2023 (40,039 visitors, +57.1%), but still much lower than March 2019 (133,858 visitors, -53.0%), according to DBEDT. Visitors from Japan spent $92.1 million in March 2024, compared to $61.3 million (+50.2%) in March 2023 and $185.2 million (-50.2%) in March 2019. Daily spending by Japanese visitors in March 2024 ($238 per person) was more than March 2023 ($232 per person, +2.5%) and was unchanged from March 2019 ($238 per person, 0.0%).

“The recovery from the Japanese market this March, compared with the same month in 2019, was 47% which is the third highest since the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Tokioka.

In March 2024, 843,519 visitors arrived by air service, mainly from the US West and US East. Additionally, 12,018 visitors came via out-of-state cruise ships. In comparison, 892,239 visitors (-5.5%) arrived by air and 8,561 visitors (+40.4%) came by cruise ships in March 2023, and 917,026 visitors (-8.0%) arrived by air and 11,824 visitors (+1.6%) came by cruise ships in March 2019.

“We are pleased to see that the cruise industry continued to grow in March 2024 with arrivals aboard out-of-state cruise ships  increasing 23.6% during the first quarter of this year,” said Tokioka.