The State of Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) released its September 2022 visitor statistics report, which showed total visitor spending increased 18.5% compared to September 2019, with a corresponding 4.5% decrease in visitor arrivals.
Total visitor spending in September 2022 was $1.48 billion, as expended by 703,270 visitors across the islands. Substantial gains in visitor spending were seen by travelers from the U.S. West (+67.3%) and U.S. East (+46.5%). Visitor spending from Canada continued to rise with 17.2% growth. Leisure travel demand from the U.S. and Canada remained strong heading into the fall.
We continue to monitor the Japan market as the country’s travel requirements are relaxed further knowing that many of our local businesses rely on this vital international market. With the currency exchange rate favoring the dollar over the yen and the current fuel surcharge increasing the cost of a Hawaiʻi trip, we anticipate a gradual return of visitors from Japan strengthening in 2023.
While the number of visitors arriving in Hawai‘i is not a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) of the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority’s work, we remain focused on visitor spending while ushering forth a regenerative model of tourism that seeks to protect our islands’ natural and cultural resources.
