Maui Visitor Spending Continues to Grow

Kahului airport. PC: Nikki Schenfeld

Visitor spending on Maui grew (+7.6% to $368.3 million) in October 2017, boosted by increased daily spending (+5.6% to $219 per person) and growth in visitor days (+1.9%), according to preliminary data released today by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.

Visitor arrivals to Maui grew (+3% to 212,649) with increases from Japan (+36.7%), Canada (+16.6%), the US East (+7.8%) and the US West (+1.8%).

Through the first ten months of 2017, Maui visitor spending (+4.2% to $3.91 billion) and arrivals (+3.2% to 2,268,420) were higher compared to 2016.

Statewide, visitors to the Hawaiian Islands spent a total of $1.3 billion in October 2017, an increase of 4.4% compared to a year ago. According to the report, all four larger Hawaiian Islands saw growth in visitor spending and arrivals in October compared to last year.

Total visitor arrivals rose 2.8% to 736,974 visitors in October, marked by growth in arrivals from air service (+3.6% to 718,258) offsetting a decline in cruise ship arrivals (-21.3% to 18,716).

The US East market reported the largest gain in visitor spending (+13% to $290.7 million) in October year-over-year, boosted by growth in visitor arrivals (+7.9% 137,695) and higher daily spending (+6.2% to $217 per person).

Spending by US West visitors rose (+3.7% to $466.1 million) in October. Visitor arrivals were up (+3.3% to 295,273) and daily spending (+1.2% to $174 per person) also increased from last year.

The Japan market continued to realize growth in visitor spending (+1.4% to $190.9 million) in October. Increases in visitor arrivals (+3.6% to 137,333) and the average length of stay (+2.4% to 5.75 days) offset lower daily spending (-4.4% to $242 per person) compared to October 2016.

The Canada market saw decreased visitor spending (-1.4% to $57 million) in October. Visitor arrivals increased (+8.4% to 29,496) but daily spending declined (-8.5% to $160 per person) compared to October 2016.

Year-to-Date 2017

Through the first ten months of 2017 visitor spending exceeded results from the same period last year (+6.8% to $13.86 billion), bolstered by growth in visitor arrivals (+4.7% to 7,754,242) and daily spending (+2.2% to $200 per person).

Visitor spending increased from US West (+9.9% to $5.07 billion), US East (+10.6% to $3.56 billion), Japan (+9.9% to $1.87 billion) and Canada (+9% to $805.7 million) but declined from All Other International markets (-5.7% to $2.53 billion) compared to the first ten months of 2016.

Year-to-date, visitor arrivals increased from US West (+4.3%), US East (+5.9%), Japan (+6.4%) and Canada (+9.5%), but showed no growth from All Other International markets (-0.2%).

Other Island Highlights:

• O‘ahu: Visitor spending rose slightly in October (+0.8% to $596.8 million) compared to last year. Visitor days increased 3.4%, but daily spending was lower (-2.5% to $205 per person). Visitor arrivals were up (+2.9% to 448,041), with more visitors from US East (+8.9%), Canada (+8.3%), U.S. West (+4.6%) and Japan (+1.2%). Year-to date through October, increases were realized in visitor spending (+5.4% to $6.33 billion) and arrivals (+4.1% to 4,712,345) compared to 2016.

• Island of Hawai‘i: Visitor spending grew considerably in October (+15.4% to $180.5 million) versus a year ago. Increases in visitor arrivals (+12.3% to 136,144) and visitor days (+11.2%) were supported by additional air service from the US mainland and Japan. Daily spending was also higher (+3.8% to $188 per person). Arrivals increased from Japan (+42.5%), Canada (+21%) and US East (+9.5%), which offset fewer visitors from US West (-2.1%). Through the first 10 months of 2017, double-digit growth was realized for both visitor spending (+16.3% to $1.96 billion) and arrivals (+13.4% to 1,453,009) compared to 2016.

• Kaua‘i: Visitor spending rose in October (+4.4% to $141 million) year-over-year, bolstered by growth in visitor days (+6.2%), which offset lower daily spending (-1.7% to $194 per person). Visitor arrivals grew (+6.9% to 100,476) with more visitors from Japan (+49.5%), US East (+7.6%), Canada (+7.1%) and US West (+5.3%) compared to October 2016. Through the first ten months of 2017, visitor spending (+9.5% to $1.54 billion) and arrivals (+7.3% to 1,064,228) increased compared to 2016.