Hawaii visitor arrivals and spending slow as 2013 comes to an end

“Tourism has contributed $1.4 billion in tax revenue for the state through November 2013, $40 million more than the same period last year.

“Tourism has contributed $1.4 billion in tax revenue for the state through November 2013, $40 million more than the same period last year. However, while year-to-date visitor arrivals and expenditures continue to exceed last year, growth continues to slow during the second half of the year with monthly decreases in arrivals and expenditures in November 2013,” said Mike McCartney, President and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA).

He went on to say that there were major factors contributing to this leveling off including increasingly aggressive competition, adjustments in product pricing, and fluctuations in currency exchange rates and fuel costs. As a result, many consumers continue to become more price conscious, which has been affecting visitor length of stay, accommodation preferences and spending.

McCartney said: “In Japan for example, the market is experiencing a weakening yen and will be further impacted by an increase in consumption tax in April 2014, which will contribute to the slowing of the market’s travel booking pace.

“Having anticipated a slowdown from our major markets, the HTA is working with its marketing contractors to increase efforts to help stimulate core markets including North America and Japan, while strengthening developing markets like China, Taiwan and Oceania. This includes enhancing marketing programs and airlift support to increase destination market share and balance Hawaii’s tourism economy.

“We continue to work with our global contractors to adjust our marketing plans to address these forecasted shortfalls, which we project will continue through the first half of 2014.”

Total visitor expenditures in November 2013 decreased 2.1 percent to $1.1 billion while visitor arrivals to Hawaii dropped 5.5 percent to 620,051 visitors, according to preliminary statistics released by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. This was the third consecutive month of declines for both visitor expenditures and arrivals compared to the previous year. Although there were fewer visitors compared to November 2012, their average daily visitor spending rose 3.1 percent to $199 per person. For the first 11 months of 2013, total visitor expenditures (+2.9% to $13.2 billion) and arrivals (+3% to 7,513,089 visitors) continued to exceed year-to-date 2012.

A 7.3 percent drop in U.S. West arrivals to 254,122 visitors in November 2013 resulted in a 7.5 percent decline in U.S. West visitor expenditures to $368 million. U.S. East visitor expenditures decreased 15 percent to $201 million due to fewer arrivals (-9.2% to 105,834 visitors) and lower daily visitor spending (-6.7% to $187 per person).

Arrivals from Japan totaled 122,484 visitors in November 2013, comparable to a year ago. However, lower daily spending (-5% to $309 per person) and a shorter length of stay (-2.2% to 5.55 days) led to a 6.5 percent decline in Japanese visitor expenditures to $209.6 million. Stable arrivals (44,650 visitors) and higher daily spending (+9.2% to $171 per person) boosted Canadian visitor expenditures to $98.5 million in November 2013.

There were 77,892 visitors from All Other markets, about the same as November 2012. Significantly more visitors from Oceania (+33.3%) and an 8.8 percent increase from Europe offset an 11.2 percent decrease in arrivals from Other Asia (see page 2). Combined expenditures from All Other visitors grew 30.2 percent to $217.2 million boosted by higher daily spending and a longer length of stay. Arrivals by cruise ships decreased 30.5 percent from last November to 15,069 visitors.

Among the islands, visitor expenditures in November 2013 declined on Oahu (-7.9% to $553 million) but increased on Kauai (+9.3% to $110.8 million) and Maui (+5.8% to $289.6 million). Visitor expenditures on Hawaii Island ($131 million) were similar to November 2012.

There were 863,617 total air seats to Hawaii in November 2013, up 1.5 percent from last November. Growth in scheduled seats from Oceania (+41.4%), Japan (+11.6%), Canada (+5%) and Other Asia (+3.3%) offset declines from U.S. East (-5.1%) and U.S. West (-2%).

Year-to-Date 2013:

Expenditures by U.S. West (+4.6% to $4.4 billion), U.S. East (+4.3% to $3.2 billion) and Canadian (+2.5% to $904.7 million) visitors increased, but expenditures by Japanese visitors declined (-7.7% to $2.3 billion). Arrivals from U.S. West (+2.3%), Japan (+3.6%) and Canada (+2.8%) showed moderate growth, while arrivals from Oceania (+30.1%), Other Asia (+17.8%), Europe (+10.4%) and Latin America (+20.3%) rose by double digits compared to year-to-date 2012.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

Share to...