Compared to November 1999, the increase in visitors� length of stay (+1.8%) compensated for the decline in total arrivals (-1.4%), resulting in a slight increase in visitor days (+0.4%). 

�The overall picture is very encouraging,� said DBEDT Director Seiji Naya. �We welcome the news from JTB, Japan�s biggest travel agency, that December bookings to Hawaii are up considerably compared to a year ago. Furthermore, we will continue to see strength from domestic markets, and we believe that the Japan visitor market will strengthen in the months ahead.� 

Arrivals from domestic regions were stable (+0.4%) and partially offset the decrease in visitors arriving from international destinations (-4.4%). 

Domestic Visitor Statistics Remain Strong 

Steady domestic arrivals (visitors arriving on flights originating in U.S. cities) and longer length of stay (+1.2%, from 9.88 days to 10.0 days) resulted in a 1.7 percent increase in visitor days this November. Year-to-date statistics are up for both domestic visitor days (+5.5%) and visitor arrivals (+4.6%).

Of the 337,212 visitors arriving on domestic flights in November, about 88 percent were U.S. mainland residents. This represents 1.8 percent more domestic visitors from the U.S. mainland than in last November. Areas that showed increases were the East North Central Region (+25.7%), Middle Atlantic Region (+14.6%), New England Region (+9.8%), East South Central Region (+2.4%) and California (+2.4%).  Year-to-date, the U.S. domestic visitor arrivals remain strong (+5.3%). 

In November, fewer domestic visitors traveled to more than one island, resulting in a 10.8 percent decline in multiple island visitations. Oahu led the increase in single-island visitation (+12.4%), followed by Maui (+2.7%) and the Big Island (+1.6%). Oahu was the only island that experienced an increase in domestic visitors (+3.4%). 

Compared to last November, domestic visitation for Meeting, Convention and Incentive (MCI) travel climbed 50.7 percent, and 18.4 percent year-to-date. Although there were fewer honeymooners (-11.6%) and vacationers (-3.8%) during November, year-to-date domestic honeymooners and vacationers continued to increase (+4.6% and +2.6% respectively). 

Visitors Arriving on International Flights 

International visitors (those arriving on flights originating outside the U.S.) fell 4.4 percent in November, compared to the same month last year. The higher average length of stay (+1.7%, from 6.39 days to 6.50 days) did not offset the decrease in arrivals, resulting in 2.7 percent drop in international visitor days. 
A total of 196,857 visitors arrived on international flights in November. Of these, close to 74 percent were from Japan. Arrivals by Japanese from international destinations decreased 1.5 percent for the month. Lower numbers were also reported for U.S.  West residents (-17.8%) and Canadians (-13.2%). Travelers from U.S. East rose 31.3 percent. 

Similar to domestic visitors, international visitors were less likely to visit more than one island in November. Multiple island visitations declined 22.7 percent.  Single-island visitations were up for Maui (+10.2%) and Oahu (+2.8%), but lower for Kauai (-76.9%), and the Big Island (-7.8%). 

More visitors arrived on international flights to honeymoon in November (+3.1%) than the same month last year. Although there were fewer MCI travelers (-16.0%) and vacationers (-9.9%), year-to-date data for both categories remain strong at 4.9% and 13.2% respectively.

Most of the visitors arriving on international flights were first-timers (55.1%), up slightly from 54.8 percent last November. 

Island Highlights 

Lower arrivals in November translated into decreases in visitation to all the islands led by Kauai (-15.6%), the Big Island (-14.2%), Maui (-5.6%), and Oahu (-0.4%). 

Year-to-date, more visitors stayed only on one island (+6.2%), and did not visit multiple islands. Perhaps due to the increase in nonstop flights to Kona and Maui, more people visited the Big Island only (+4.1%) and Maui island only (+1.8%). Oahu reported increased arrivals (+4.4%) and people visiting Oahu only (+9.1%). Arrivals on the neighbor islands were down. 

Compared to last November, Oahu (+7.9%) and Molokai (+18.2%) reported increases in total visitor days while the other islands were down. 

Domestic visitors� length of stay increased on all islands. Domestic visitors on Oahu stayed the longest at 7.58 days (+11.0%), followed by the Big Island at 7.54 days (+5.1%), Maui at 7.27 days (+0.9%), Molokai at 6.88 days (+33.1%), Kauai at 6.65 days (+0.2%) and Lanai at 6.01 days (+24.4%). 
International visitors on Maui stayed the longest at 6.61 days (+28.9%), followed by Oahu at 5.55 days (+3.6%), and Molokai at 4.46 days. The length of stay on Kauai fell 17.0 percent to 3.34 days and on Lanai it declined 29.7 percent to 2.39 days versus November 1999. 

Visitor Characteristics 

MCI travelers climbed 31.0 percent, fueled by increases in conventioneers (+48.5%) and incentive travelers (+3.7%) this November as compared to last. Year-to-date MCI visitor growth remained strong at 15.7 percent. 

Honeymoon visitors declined 1.6 percent this November and the year-to-date figure is still below last year (-1.1%). Year-to-date vacation visitors are up 6.3 percent, despite the decrease (-6.1%) for the month.

Hotel lodging continues to surpass 1999 levels with more visitors staying in hotels in November 2000 (+1.7%). Year-to-date hotel lodging is up 5.4 percent. 

First time visitors to Hawaii accounted for 41.6 percent of the total visitors in November 2000, unchanged from the same month last year. 

Cruise Ship Visitors 

Visitors arriving by air to board cruise ships fell 25.3 percent to 4,742. Only one foreign cruise ship, the Statendam, spent five days in Hawaii this November and brought 1,189 people. This was down from November 1999 when two foreign cruise ships brought 2,397 visitors to the islands. 

U.S. West Visitors

The U.S. West visitor market remains strong. The region�s longer length of stay (9.76 days from 9.52 days) resulted in a 0.2 percent increase in visitor days from this region compared to November 1999, despite a 2.3 percent decline in visitor arrivals.  Year-to-date visitor days are up 6.8 percent. 

In November, 186,435 visitors came from the U.S. West, of which 21.6 percent were first-timers to the islands. MCI travelers climbed 39.7 percent for the month and 17.5 percent year-to-date. Fewer came for vacation (-16.5%) or to honeymoon (-2.0%) compared to last November, but year-to-date growth continue to be healthy (+6.0% and +9.7% respectively). 

U.S. East Visitors

Very strong growth was seen in visitor days from the U.S. East market. Compared to last November, growth in arrivals (+8.9%) and longer length of stay to 10.09 days (+1.2%) led to a 10.3 percent jump in total U.S. East visitor days. Growth in year-to-date arrivals (+9.5%) and visitor days (+9.6%) continue to be among the highest for any market segment. 

Of the 124,782 visitors from U.S. East in November, 47.9 percent were first-timers to the islands, up slightly from a year ago. MCI travel from the U.S. East soared 72.2 percent, led by conventioneers. More visitors also came to vacation (+6.6%) and to visit with family and friends (+3.2%). Although the number of honeymooners fell 11.4 percent, year-to-date growth continues to be strong (+5.7%). 

Japanese Visitors 

Japanese visitor days declined slightly (-0.4%) in November. A longer length of stay (+2.0%) to 5.54 days was offset by the decrease in arrivals (-2.4%). 
Compared to last November, more Japanese visitors stayed on cruise ships (+73.1%) and in condos (+3.6%), while fewer found accommodations in hotels, bed & breakfast places or stayed with family and friends. 

Japanese MCI travel rose 26.6 percent in November and 13.3 percent year-to-date.  More visitors honeymooned (+3.4%) during the month compared to November 1999, but year-to-date is still below 1999 (-4.2%). Arrivals for vacation dipped 2.5 percent this November but remain above the 1999 level at 1.6 percent year-to-date. 

Hawaii welcomed a total of 147,449 Japanese visitors last month. Of these, 43.6 percent were repeat visitors, an increase of 2.7 percentage points over last November.  Year-to-date, the number of first-time visitors from Japan is 1.4 percentage points higher than the same period last year at 53.0 percent. 
Following the U.S. trend, fewer Japanese went island hopping in November, resulting in a 27.9 percent decline in multiple-island visitation. Japanese visiting the Big Island only and Maui only surged (+490.9% and +352.6% respectively). However, year-to-date data show more Japanese are visiting multiple islands (+6.3%), which resulted in increased visitations on Kauai (+33.2%), the Big Island (+10.4%) and Maui (+7.6%). Following the November trend (-8.1%), year-to-date, fewer Japanese visited Oahu (-1.7%). 

Canadian Visitors 

November was not a strong month for the Canadian market, which dropped 11.9 percent to 22,427 visitors. Average length of stay also fell 4.9 percent to 12.05 days, resulting in a 16.2 percent decrease in visitor days. Despite November�s decline, year-to-date data for Canadians remain strong with growth in both visitor arrivals (+5.1%) and visitor days (+1.4%). 

In November, more Canadians visited Molokai (+26.7%) and Lanai (+52.6%). Kauai (-42.9%), the Big Island (-38.9%), and Maui (-16.1%) all reported fewer Canadian visitors, while Oahu was unchanged. Following the trend for other markets, fewer Canadians (-19.1%) visited multiple islands in November, while there is an increase year-to-date (+1.0%). 

Fewer Canadians stayed in hotels (-10.0%), condos (-12.9%), bed & breakfast places (-40.4%), on cruise ships (-87.8%) or with friends and relatives (-30.6%). Year-to-date, hotels (+15.7%) and condos (+2.5%) remain the accommodation of choice for Canadian travelers. Compared to last November, more Canadian visitors came for corporate meetings (+71.7%) and for vacation (+0.9%).