Hawaii's visitor industry continued at a billion-dollar-a-month pace in May, although head counts had barely gained from a year ago, when the rebound from the 2009 slump was already well under way.
Maui County welcomed 174,081 visitors in May, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. That was only 0.6 percent above May 2010, but it was about 30,000 visitors better than May 2009.
The rest of the state also showed almost no growth since last May. Visitor head count was up 0.3 percent to 548,859, but visitor days were up only 0.1 percent to 4.9 million.
Spending, however, continues to climb. May was the 13th consecutive month of increased visitor spending, said Mike McCartney, the tourism authority's president and chief executive officer.
''We were also pleased to see an increase of 70 percent in the meetings, conventions and incentives market compared to May 2010,'' he said in a statement. The annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association from May 14 to 18 brought 9,547 delegates to the islands.
The amount of people who visited for sporting events in May rose 37.4 percent, contributed by the 2011 National Veterans Golden Age Games, the nation's largest sporting event for senior military veterans, and Battle for the Paddle, a stand-up paddleboard race.
Japanese arrivals were down 17 percent on Oahu last month, representing continuing reaction to the March earthquake and tsunami. But a stronger yen has made it easier for Japanese tourists who do come to buy, and Japanese visitor spending is up 5.3 percent this year.
Japanese business is a small and shrinking share of Maui County's market. Although arrivals are up 22.9 percent from Canada, and 7.4 percent from eastern states, they are down 3.3 percent from Japan. Most Maui tourists still come from western states, and there the rebound continues, up 6.0 percent this year.
Statewide, visits are up 6.4 percent so far this year, but total spending is up 15.3 percent.
On Maui island, per person per day spending has risen $6.50 to $184.20, which is $3 lower than Oahu. Retail sales account for a higher percentage of overall spending on Oahu, where rooms are cheaper.
On Kauai, per person per day spending this year is $165, and on the Big Island it is $155.
On Lanai, it is $326.50, but on Molokai it is only $105.30.
In May, Lanai welcomed 6,105 visitors, though they stayed only 3.4 days on average. Molokai had 3,587 visitors, and they stayed 4.5 days on average.
Maui's average length of stay was 8.25 days, and the statewide average was a respectable 9.5 days.
Tourism officials anticipate activity to remain strong through the second half of the year, McCartney said, noting a direct flight from Shanghai to Honolulu on China Eastern Airlines begins in August.
''Our goal is to build on this momentum so that tourism can continue to drive Hawaii's economic recovery,'' he said.
* The Associated Press contributed to this report. Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.
