November visitor arrivals and spending on Maui were still below pre-pandemic levels, as the island saw a nearly 13 percent dip in arrivals and a nearly 7 percent drop in spending as compared to 2019.

There were 202,246 visitors to Maui in November, down 12.9 percent from 232,330 visitors in November 2019, according to preliminary visitor statistics released by the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism last week.

Visitor spending on Maui was $352.2 million in November, down 6.8 percent from the $377.9 million spent in November 2019.

Statewide, a total of 613,391 visitors arrived via air in November, versus 809,076 visitors who arrived via air (792,547) and cruise ships (16,529) in November 2019.

The first cruise ship to Kahului Harbor since the pandemic began is expected to arrive on Wednesday. Lahaina Harbor is expected to see its first cruise ship on Jan. 15.

Statewide, visitors spent $1.18 billion in November, down 11.5 percent from the $1.34 billion spent in November 2019.

Maui’s 2,064,043 visitor arrivals through the first 11 months of 2021 reflected a significant bounceback from the 701,430 it saw through the first 11 months of 2020 when travel was largely shut down, but still behind the 2,784,485 visitors who came in the first 11 months of 2019.

For the first 11 months of 2021, total visitor spending on Maui was $3.5 billion, a decrease of 24.3 percent from the $4.61 billion spent in the first 11 months of 2019.

In November, Lanai saw 4,340 visitors, which was down 19.1 percent from November 2019, when there were 5,368 visitors. But spending was up for November, with Lanai visitors shelling out a total of $9.1 million, up 3.1 percent from the $8.8 million spent in November 2019.

Molokai saw 2,589 visitors in November, down 42.1 percent from 4,472 visitors in November 2019.

Visitors on Molokai in November spent $2.8 million, down 5.5 percent from the $3 million spent in November 2019.

DBEDT Director Mike McCartney said in a news release that officials are “pleased to see Hawaii’s tourism industry’s continued improvement in November.”

“Looking forward with cautious optimism, our tourism industry is linked to how Hawaii and the world responds to omicron. Public health is still fundamental to an improved tourism economy,” McCartney said. “The more our visitors and residents have the booster vaccination, the better opportunity we will all have to achieve economic momentum and prosperity.”

Hawaii Tourism Authority President and CEO John De Fries said demand for travel to Hawaii remains strong when looking at the November figures.

He also noted the issues that COVID still brings but is looking forward to welcoming back international visitors.

“The stabilization of the visitor industry continues, and its recovery is an important part of Hawaii’s economy that supports thousands of kamaaina families,” De Fries said.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.