Visitors to Maui down, but spending up in October and YTD

Maui visitor arrivals down, spending up

Visitor arrivals to Maui were down in October of 2022, compared to the same time in 2019, but visitor spending continues to trend upward.

There were 228,071 visitors to Maui in October 2022 compared to 238,043 visitors (-4.2%) in October 2019, down -4.2%, according to new data released by the state Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism.

Visitor spending on Maui was $431.2 million compared to $379.8 million (+13.5%) in October 2019. The average daily census on Maui was 58,924 visitors in October 2022 down from the 59,620 visitors (-1.2%) in October 2019, according to the report.

Through the first 10 months of 2022, visitor arrivals were also down, while spending was up. There were 2,422,885 visitors to Maui compared to 2,552,155 visitors (-5.1%) in the first 10 months of 2019, according to the DBEDT. For the first 10 months of 2022, total visitor spending was $4.70 billion compared to $4.24 billion (+10.9%) in the first 10 months of 2019, the agency reports.

October 2022 total visitor count 95.1% of 2019 levels

According to preliminary visitor statistics released by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, a total of 757,182 visitors arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in October 2022, representing a 95.1% recovery from the same month in 2019.

As measured in nominal dollars, these visitors spent $1.53 billion in October 2022, an increase of 15.1% compared to the $1.33 billion reported for October 2019.

The average length of stay by all visitors in October 2022 was 8.98 days, up from 8.38 days (+7.2%) in October 2019. The statewide average daily census was 219,370 visitors in October 2022 compared to 215,125 visitors (+2.0%) in October 2019.

DBEDT Director Mike McCartney said the October visitor statistics indicates that Hawaiʻi’s tourism industry continues towards a positive recovery due to a strong US market with total arrivals from all markets year-to-date at 88.6% of the same period 2019 level with spending at $15.8 billion so far this year.

Visitor arrivals from Japan still has not recovered from pre pandemic levels. There were 24,339 visitors from Japan in October 2022 compared to 134,557 visitors (-81.9%) in October 2019. Visitors from Japan spent $42.2 million in October 2022 compared to $195.7 million (-78.4%) in October 2019. Daily spending by Japanese visitors in October 2022 ($234 per person) was lower compared to October 2019 ($250 per person, -6.4%).

“January to October, international arrivals started to recover by 38.1% with visitors from Japan gaining momentum at 10.3%, from all Japanese travelers, for the same 10 months in 2019. With the expectation of the Japanese Yen exchange rate dropping to $134 in 2023 from $148 in 2022, further relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions worldwide and lower airline fuel surcharges, we expect the recovery of international visitors to accelerate in 2023,” said McCartney.

In October 2022, a total of 4,572 trans-Pacific flights with 974,071 seats serviced the Hawaiian Islands, compared to 4,807 flights (-4.9%) with 1,063,333 (-8.4%) in October 2019, the state DBEDT reports.

Through the first ten months of 2022, total visitor spending was $15.88 billion, up +8.5% from $14.63 billion in the first ten months of 2019. A total of 7,640,637 visitors arrived in the first ten months of 2022, which was a decrease compared to the first ten months of 2019 at 8,625,156 visitors (-11.4%).

“We remain optimistic with the international visitor steadily returning to provide a healthy market mix by 2025. As we slowly start to host visitors and create economic opportunities for our communities, in the long run Hawai‘i will be well positioned by reinventing its offerings and caring for and protecting our natural resources and services that are crucial to maintain a competitive edge with other destinations. Mālama Ku‘u Home, caring for our beloved home, will attract the right mix of visitors and support quality local jobs and businesses,” said McCartney.