Maui saw the second-highest amount of visitors in the state in September as the Valley Isle continues to see a recovery in tourism and visitor spending, according to preliminary visitor statistics released last week by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

During September, Maui saw 218,468 visitors arrive to the island by air, which is up 4 percent compared to the 210,108 people who came to Maui in September 2019, according to the report. It’s only the second time this year that the number of visitors in a month surpassed the number of visitors who arrived during the same month prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Visitor spending, meanwhile, increased 22.3 percent, totaling $415.3 million in September 2022 compared to $339.7 million in September 2019.

Statewide, a total of 703,270 visitors arrived in Hawaii by air and cruise ship in September, representing a 95.5 percent recovery from the same month in 2019, according to DBEDT.

These visitors spent $1.48 billion in September, which is an increase of 18.5 percent compared to the $1.25 billion reported for September 2019 before the pandemic.

The department “remains positive” that Hawaii will achieve a full recovery by 2025 despite a strong dollar, global inflation and fossil fuel supply chain disruptions due to the Ukraine-Russian war, said DBEDT Director Mike McCartney in a news release.

“It’s important to note that on average, every visitor in Hawaii spends about $2,100 per trip while staying in our islands which adds about $250 in state tax revenue (per person per trip) not including county tax revenue generation,” McCartney said. “It is also important to note that every 50 visitors support one job in our state.”

Unsurprisingly, Oahu hosted the most visitors in September compared to the rest of the state with 385,525 people arriving to the island by air, but this is still a drop of nearly 16 percent compared to September 2019 when there were 458,588 visitors. Oahu visitors spent more during their trips, though, totaling $680.1 million in September, which is an increase of 12 percent compared to $607.3 million in September 2019.

Hawaii island was the next busiest island behind Oahu and Maui, with 118,078 visitors arriving by air in September, a 5.3 percent increase compared to 112,138 visitors in September 2019. Like the other islands, visitor spending there increased to $192.8 million compared to $145.9 million (up 32.1 percent) in September 2019.

Kauai hosted 105,145 visitors who came by air in September compared to 93,501 visitors (up 12.5 percent) in September 2019. Visitor spending increased, too, to $170.7 million compared to $132 million (up 29.3 percent) in September 2019.

In September, 691,794 visitors arrived by air, mainly from the U.S. West and East regions. Additionally, 11,476 visitors arrived by cruise ships. The report does not provide a breakdown of cruise ship visitors by island.

To compare, 718,042 visitors arrived by air and 18,114 visitors came by cruise ships in September 2019.

Hawaii’s primary market continues to be the continental U.S. A total of 395,115 visitors arrived from the U.S. West region in September, an increase of 29.2 percent compared to 305,808 visitors from this area in September 2019. These visitors spent $779.8 million in September, up 67.3 percent from $466 million in September 2019. They also spent an average of $236 per person per day, which was much higher (31.6 percent) compared to September 2019 when they averaged $179 per person.

Meanwhile, there were 170,995 visitors from the U.S. East region in September, a 28.4 percent growth compared to the 133,185 visitors from this area in September 2019. These visitors spent $423.1 million in September, up 46.5 percent from $288.9 million in September 2019. Daily spending by U.S. East visitors in September was $254 per person, an increase of 11.3 percent from the same month in 2019 when the average was $229 per person.

International travelers are expected to make a slow and steady return to the islands as pandemic protocols fade.

Still, there were 24,092 visitors from Japan in September, which is 83.3 percent less compared to 143,928 visitors in September 2019.

Visitors from Japan spent $42.5 million in September compared to $196.5 million in September 2019, a 78.4 percent decline. Daily spending by Japanese visitors in September was $233 per person, which is slightly higher compared to September 2019 at $231 per person.

“Japan expects an increase in both in-bound and out-bound travel with new (less restrictive) COVID protocols for travelers,” McCartney said. “Hawaii anticipates an end of year pickup in Japanese travelers as well as international travel overall which should help end 2022 on a high note and provide momentum going into 2023.”

In September, Canadian visitor numbers declined 4.4 percent to 20,960, compared to September 2019 when 21,928 visitors arrived in the state.

Visitors from Canada spent 17.2 percent more in September when they shelled out $47.5 million, compared to the same month in 2019 when they spent $40.5 million.

Daily spending by Canadian visitors in September ($200 per person) increased significantly by 26.1 percent compared to September 2019 ($159 per person).

Through the first nine months of 2022, total visitor spending in Hawaii was $14.35 billion, up 7.9 percent from $13.3 billion in the first nine months of 2019. A total of 6,888,439 visitors arrived in the first nine months of 2022, which was a 12 percent decrease compared to the first nine months of 2019 at 7,828,965 visitors.

Daily visitor spending in the first nine months of 2022 rose to $249 per person compared to $211 per person (up 17.9 percent) in the first nine months of 2019. Spending on lodging, food and beverage, transportation, shopping, and entertainment and recreation all increased compared to the first nine months of 2019.

“As we move closer to full recovery in 2025, we will need a healthy mix of domestic and international travelers who share the values of malama ku’u home,” McCartney said.

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.