The nation's ongoing economic downturn continued to undercut visitor arrivals to Maui island by about 20 percent and by a third or more on Molokai and Lanai, according to November visitor statistics released Friday by the state Department of Business,
Economic Development & Tourism.
Compared with November 2007, visitor arrivals for the month were down 20.1 percent on Maui, 38.1 percent on Molokai and 33.2 percent on Lanai, the department reported.
Statewide, visitor arrivals fell 15.9 percent. Oahu's numbers went down 15.7 percent while Kauai and the Big Island were seeing 27.2 percent and 20 percent fewer visitors, respectively.
"Hawaii and many other visitor destinations worldwide continue to be severely impacted by the current national and global economic conditions," said state Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert.
Because the decline of visitors didn't start until May after the shutdown of Aloha Airlines and ATA, visitor arrivals for the first 11 months of the year were not down as far on a percentage basis - Maui is off by 14.8 percent, Molokai by 12.4 percent, Lanai by 15.8 percent, Oahu by 10.5 percent, Kauai by 19.3 percent and the Big Island by 17.6 percent.
Visitor spending continued to dry up as well, with Maui receiving $197.1 million or $22.6 million less than it did in November 2007. Molokai took in $3 million or 1.1 percent less, and Lanai received $3.6 million or 55.2 percent less in visitor spending for the month.
On Oahu, visitors spent $420.7 million or 8.2 percent less than in November 2007, while Kauai saw $76.1 million or 23.9 percent less, and on the Big Island spending was at $104.7 million or 17 percent less. Statewide, visitor spending fell 15.3 percent in November.
The state tourism liaison office said a 15.8 percent drop in the number of visitors flying to the islands was the immediate cause of the decline.
Japanese visitor arrivals dropped 20.3 percent while travelers from the U.S. West sank 18 percent.
There were 14.4 percent fewer travelers coming from the U.S. East and 7.1 percent fewer visitors from Canada arriving during the month.
Wienert said December spending was likely to mirror November's, rounding out a 10 percent spending drop for the entire year.
"We're continuing to be optimistic. But also, we're being real in regards to what the challenges are as we move forward," Wienert said.
On the positive side for the industry, Japan Airlines and other Japanese carriers are expected to lower the fuel surcharges on tickets they sell for flights between Japan and Hawaii starting in January and April. This should dramatically cut costs for Japanese tourists, encouraging them to visit the islands.
The Japanese yen has also soared against the dollar, making a Hawaii vacation more affordable for many in Japan.
In South Korea, a market the Hawaii tourism industry is trying to cultivate, Korean Airlines plans to double the number of seats it offers to Hawaii by flying bigger planes starting in March.
Korean Airlines expects to begin flying Boeing 747 jets to Honolulu from Seoul, instead of the 767 planes it currently flies. The 747 has about 450 seats, about 200 seats more than the 767.
Industry officials say the number of South Korean tourists to Hawaii could double to 80,000 next year because of a new program allowing them enter the U.S. without visas.
One bright spot in tourism statistics for November was that visitors who came for meetings, conventions and incentives increased 6.3 percent. Contributing to that growth was the Sweet Adelines International convention that attracted nearly 7,500 female barbershop-harmony singers to the islands, Wienert said.
