Auburn guard Denver Jones (2) makes a shot against Memphis during the first half of the championship game of the NCAA college basketball Maui Invitational tournament on Nov. 27 in Lahaina. According to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, the number of visitors to Maui was up 21.6% in November over November 2023. AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

Based on preliminary statistics from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, 770,940 visitors came to Hawaii in November, a 5.3% increase compared to the same month last year.

The department reported visitor spending was measured at $1.55 billion, which was up 2% from November 2023.

Additionally, November marked the fourth-consecutive month with year-over-year growth in both visitor arrivals and expenditures. Total visitor arrivals in November represented a 95.3% recovery rate from pre-pandemic November 2019 when there were 809,076 visitors and total visitor spending has increased 16% over November 2019.

On Maui, there were 197,622 visitors in November, which was 21.6% higher than November 2023 (162,470), but still down 14.9% from November 2019 (232,330). Visitor spending increased to $435.7 million in November, compared to $378.2 million in November 2023 and $377.9 million in November 2019. The average daily census on Maui was 51,901 visitors in November, compared to 45,669 visitors in November 2023 and 61,437 visitors in November 2019.

In the first 11 months of 2024, there were more than 2.11 million visitors to Maui, compared to 2.29 million in the first 11 months of 2023 and 2.78 million in the first 11 months of 2019. For the first 11 months of 2024, total visitor spending was $4.71 billion, compared to $5.33 billion in the first 11 months of 2023 and $4.61 billion in the first 11 months of 2019.

In November, 762,662 visitors arrived in Hawaii by air, mainly from the U.S. mainland. Another 8,278 visitors arrived via out-of-state cruise ships.

The average length of stay by all visitors in November was 8.43 days, which was shorter than November 2023 (8.76 days), but longer than November 2019 (8.30 days). The statewide average daily census was 216,590 visitors in November, compared to 213,795 in November 2023 and 223,746 in November 2019.

However, the number of visitors from from Japan declined in November with 60,684. In November 2023, there were 63,416 visitors from Japan and 131,536 in November 2019. Visitors from Japan spent $88.8 million in November, compared to $96.4 million in November 2023 and $189.4 million in November 2019.

Daily spending by Japanese visitors this November was $252 per person, which increased slightly from November 2023 ($251), but was less than November 2019 ($256).

In November 2024, 48,533 visitors arrived from Canada, and there were 77,213 visitors from all other international markets.

Air capacity to the Hawaiian Islands in November increased compared to November 2023 but declined from November 2019.

“We are pleased to see the continued recovery in our tourism industry in November 2024,” DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka said in a statement. “U.S. visitors accounted for 77.1% of the total arrivals by air service during the first 11 months of 2024, 10 percentage points higher than the share of U.S. visitors during the same period in 2019. The strong economic growth in the country contributed to the increased travel demand from other states in the country.”

He added that year-to-date through November, international visitor arrivals by air recovered 64.5% of the 2019 level for the same period, while Japanese visitor arrivals recovered 45.1%.

“With the expectation of moderate economic growth in the Japanese economy and improvement of the exchange rate, we anticipate more Japanese visitors in 2025, but the full market recovery may take a few years,” Tokioka concluded.