Hawaiʻi visitor spending up 4.8% in April despite slight drop in arrivals

Hawaiʻi  welcomed slightly fewer visitors in April 2026 than it did a year earlier, but those who came spent more—pushing total visitor spending to $1.77 billion for the month, a 4.8% increase over April 2025, according to preliminary data from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

There were 828,959 total visitors to the state in April, down just 0.5% from the 833,219 who arrived in April 2025. Visitors averaged $278 per person per day, a 14.1% jump from the $243 daily average recorded the previous year.

“We are pleased to see positive growth in both visitor spending and visitor arrivals from the US East and Japan in April 2026,” DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka said.

Of the month’s total arrivals, 801,335 came by air and 27,624 arrived via out-of-state cruise ships—the latter figure a 20.4% increase from April 2025.

Visitors stayed an average of 7.69 days in April, down from 8.33 days the previous year. The statewide average daily census—a measure of how many visitors are present on any given day—fell 8.2% to 212,409, compared to 231,353 in April 2025.

The US West remained Hawaiʻi ‘s largest visitor market in April, though arrivals from that region dipped 4.8% to 435,359. Total spending by West Coast visitors nonetheless grew to $903.4 million, up from $855 million in April 2025, as average daily spending climbed sharply to $283 per person from $234 a year ago.

Visitors from the US East posted the strongest growth of any major domestic market, with arrivals up 16.3% to 209,756. Total East Coast visitor spending reached $530.4 million, an 18% increase from April 2025’s $449.1 million. East Coast tourists also outspent their West Coast counterparts daily, averaging $296 per person.

Arrivals from Japan increased 6% to 55,512, with total spending reaching $80.6 million, up from $77.4 million a year ago. Average daily spending by Japanese visitors was essentially flat at $247, compared to $245 in April 2025.

Canada continued to lag. Arrivals from that country fell 4.1% to 34,900, and total Canadian visitor spending dropped to $86.5 million from $91 million the prior April. Tokioka acknowledged the trend, saying the Canadian market “continued to be impacted by social and political challenges.”

Other international markets saw a steeper drop, arrivals from Oceania, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Pacific Island nations fell 21.6% to 65,808.

On the supply side, air capacity to Hawaii increased in April, with 5,201 transpacific flights offering 1,146,516 seats—up 8.7% in flights and 3.9% in seats from April 2025.

In the first four months of 2026, statewide visitor spending totaled $7.89 billion, up 8% from the same period in 2025, with total arrivals reaching 3.38 million, a 2.7% increase year over year.