DBEDT: State committed to supporting Maui’s economic recovery amid decrease in visitor arrivals and spending

There were 174,582 visitors to Maui in April 2024, a significant decrease from 243,245 visitors (-28.2%) in April 2023 and 247,984 visitors (-29.6%) in April 2019, according to preliminary statistics from the state Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT).

Visitor spending was $390.5 million in April 2024, compared to $544.8 million (-28.3%) in April 2023 and $398.6 million (-2%) in April 2019. The average daily census on Maui was 44,804 visitors in April 2024, compared to 61,735 visitors (-27.4%) in April 2023 and 63,280 visitors (-29.2%) in April 2019, according to the state report.

DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka said “With the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s Mākaukau Maui campaign and targeted efforts showcasing Maui’s readiness to welcome visitors, DBEDT is committed to supporting the state and Maui’s economic recovery.”

In the first four months of 2024, there were 736,936 visitors to Maui, compared to 969,214 visitors (-24%) in the first four months of 2023 and 974,943 visitors (-24.4%) in the first four months of 2019. For the first four months of 2024, total visitor spending was $1.81 billion, compared to $2.33 billion (-22.5%) in the first four months of 2023 and $1.73 billion (+4.5%) in the first four months of 2019, according to DBEDT.

Statewide, total visitor arrivals and total visitor spending in April 2024 decreased compared to April 2023 according to the DBEDT report. There were 753,551 visitors to the Hawaiian Islands in April 2024, down 8.9% from the same month last year. Total visitor spending measured in nominal dollars was $1.51 billion, which was a 12.6% drop from April 2023. When compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, April 2024 total visitor arrivals represent an 88.7% recovery from April 2019 and total visitor spending was higher than April 2019 ($1.32 billion, +14.3%).

“Overall travel to the Hawaiian Islands was soft for April with total visitors by air decreasing 10.5% from April 2023. This is the first month that arrivals to O‘ahu decreased since March 2021. The decrease was partially due to Easter falling on March 31, which pushed spring break travel into March instead of April. Easter 2023 was on April 9, which affected the year-over-year performance. In reviewing a forecast provided by Jerry Gibson of the Hawai‘i Hotel Alliance, spring bookings are not picking up as indicated by previous estimates,” Tokioka said.

“The cruise market performed well in April with visitors who came via out-of-state cruise ships registering the second highest monthly arrival on record. This market typically has less impact on the destination than visitors who travel by air as cruise travelers often participate in group tour activities versus exploring the islands individually and renting cars,” according to Tokioka.

Other DBEDT data:

In April 2024, 721,855 visitors arrived by air service, mainly from the US West and US East. Additionally, 31,695 visitors came via out-of-state cruise ships. In comparison, 806,209 visitors (-10.5%) arrived by air and 21,328 visitors (+48.6%) came by cruise ships in April 2023, and 824,610 visitors (-12.5%) arrived by air and 24,787 visitors (+27.9%) came by cruise ships in April 2019. The average length of stay by all visitors in April 2024 was 8.27 days, compared to 8.58 days (-3.6%) in April 2023 and 8.25 days (+0.3%) in April 2019. The statewide average daily census was 207,827 visitors in April 2024, compared to 236,661 visitors (-12.2%) in April 2023 and 233,616 visitors (-11.0%) in April 2019, according to the DBEDT report.

There were 49,024 visitors from Japan in April 2024, which was up considerably from April 2023 (34,358 visitors, +42.7%), but continued to be much lower than April 2019 (119,487 visitors, -59.0%). Visitors from Japan spent $72.7 million in April 2024, compared to $57.3 million (+26.8%) in April 2023 and $164.0 million (-55.7%) in April 2019. Daily spending by Japanese visitors in April 2024 ($238 per person) was higher than April 2023 ($235 per person, +1.0%) and April 2019 ($234 per person, +1.7%).

In April 2024, 37,950 visitors arrived from Canada, a decrease compared to April 2023 (39,333 visitors, -3.5%) and April 2019 (56,749 visitors, -33.1%). Visitors from Canada spent $86.1 million in April 2024, down from April 2023 ($96.3 million, -10.7%) and April 2019 ($100.2 million, -14.1%). Daily spending by Canadian visitors in April 2024 ($221 per person) increased from April 2023 ($217 per person, +1.8%) and was much higher than April 2019 ($154 per person, +43.5%).

There were 72,839 visitors from all other international markets in April 2024, which included visitors from Oceania, Other Asia, Europe, Latin America, Guam, the Philippines, and the Pacific Islands. In comparison, there were 80,708 visitors (-9.7%) from all other international markets in April 2023 and 100,686 visitors (-27.7%) in April 2019.

In April 2024, a total of 4,890 transpacific flights with 1,080,344 seats serviced the Hawaiian Islands, a decrease from 5,021 flights (-2.6%) with 1,085,788 seats (-0.5%) in April 2023, and 5,031 flights (-2.8%) with 1,112,200 seats (-2.9%) in April 2019, according to the state report.

The full report is available online here.