November 20, 2001 - Total visitors days for October 2001 decreased
25.6 percent while visitor arrivals fell 30.3 percent when compared with
results from last October according to data released today by the Department
of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT).
�We anticipate that the additional $10 million approved for an emergency
tourism marketing campaign by the special legislative session last month
will help to stabilize our visitor industry,� said DBEDT Director Seiji
Naya. �The campaign targets the top 20 markets in the U.S. and Canada,
and the top three cities in Japan. It will highlight the healing and rejuvenation
aspects of the Hawaii vacation experience and will focus on frequent fliers,
families, seniors, veterans, the honeymoon/wedding market and meeting planners.�
In addition, Naya noted that the $100 million extra appropriation for
public construction projects and $36 million to improve security at airports,
harbors and highways should help Hawaii�s construction industry.
�It is important that we keep those who are currently employed in jobs,�
he said. �At the same time, we can make up some of the backlog in repair
and maintenance to our schools.�
�Looking ahead, we should see an improvement in visitor numbers during
December when the Honolulu Marathon is held. We are expecting roughly 24,000
participants, nearly the same as last year�s total, with about 9-10,000
of these coming from Japan and almost 8,000 from the U.S. Mainland.�
Visitors Arriving on Domestic Flights
Domestic visitor days, compiled from flights originating in U.S. cities,
dropped 18.8 percent in October 2001 due to a 19.4 percent decrease in
arrivals that was slightly offset by a longer length of stay (up 0.7% to
9.91 days). Year-to-date domestic visitor days fell 4.4 percent from the
same period last year.
The U.S. market, which comprised 90 percent of all domestic visitors,
declined 16.1 percent with all U.S. regions posting lower arrivals for
the month. Year-to-date arrivals from the U.S. mainland were 3.0 percent
lower compared to the same period a year ago, but California, the primary
domestic market, still reported a 1.0 percent growth.
Domestic visitations to all islands were lower than last October�s totals.
Year-to-date, island visitations decreased for Maui (-7.9%), Lanai (-6.5%),
the Big Island (-6.1%), Kauai (-5.2%), Molokai (-4.9%) and Oahu (-3.4%).
Year-to-date, the number of MCI travelers (-25.4%), honeymooners (-9.2%)
and vacationers (-2.0%) decreased when compared to the same period last
year. Repeat visitors grew 1.0 percentage points over last October to 63.2
percent of all domestic visitors to the islands.
�The data for October support the marketing campaign being pursued
by the HVCB,� said Naya. �Our repeat visitors, especially Californians,
have been our major source of visitors.�
Visitors Arriving on International Flights
International visitor days, compiled from flights originating outside
the U.S., plummeted 45.7 percent during October due to a 50.3 percent drop
in arrivals. The average length of stay rose 9.4 percent to 6.71 days.
All islands, except for Molokai, experienced double-digit declines compared
to October of last year. Molokai and Lanai, which experienced remarkable
arrival growth during the first eight months of this year, still registered
very strong year-to-date growths of 123.7 percent and 24.6 percent, respectively.
Year-to-date, the number of MCI travelers (-23.7%), vacationers (-7.9%)
and honeymooners (-6.6%) declined from the same time last year. Repeat
visitors represented 48.0 percent of all international visitors during
the month, up from 43.4 percent during the previous October.
Island Highlights
Compared to October 2000, domestic visitors stayed the longest on Oahu
at 7.20 days (+2.3%), followed by visitors to Maui at 6.83 days (-2.5%),
the Big Island at 6.74 days (-2.2%), Kauai at 5.92 days (-4.9%), Molokai
at 4.21 days (-3.8%) and Lanai at 4.05 days (+7.4%).
International visitors stayed the longest on Oahu at 5.98 days (+14.5%),
Molokai at 5.43 days (+66.4%), Maui at 4.67 days (+6.8%), the Big Island
at 3.56 days (-6.9%), Kauai at 2.48 days (-8.5%) and Lanai at 2.19 days
(-18.2%).
Visitor Characteristics
The number of visitors in the islands for MCI travel (-42.3%), for vacation
(-29.2%) and to honeymoon (-33.8%) declined significantly compared to last
October. Year-to-date, the number of vacationers (-4.2%), honeymooners
(-7.8%) and MCI travelers (-25.0%) declined from the same period last year.
Hotels continued to be the primary choice for lodging, accommodating
66 percent of all visitors in October, but the number of visitors staying
in hotels fell 36.1 percent during the month. Visitors staying in condominiums
(-29.0%), with friends and relatives (-6.6%) and in bed & breakfast
properties (-19.4%) also declined, however, the number of visitors staying
on cruise ships (+24.3%) and in timeshare units (+2.8%) increased over
the previous October.
Repeat visitors to Hawaii rose to 59.4 percent of total visitors for
the month compared to 55.5 percent in October 2000.
Cruise Ship Visitors
Visitors arriving by air to board cruise ships rose 24.3 percent in
October 2001 to 18,939 passengers reflecting the addition of the Patriot
which joined the inter-island cruise market at the end of 2000. On October
20, 2001, the Patriot and its sister ship the Independence have ceased
their operations in Hawaii. However, their absence is to be filled by the
2,500-passenger vessel Norwegian Star, which is scheduled to commence inter-island
voyages in mid-December 2001.
There were eight foreign cruise ships touring the islands during the
month which brought 12,563 passengers to the islands compared to seven
ships and 10,972 passengers during last October. Year-to-date, visitor
days of foreign cruise passengers are 3.0 percent over the same period
last year.
U.S. West Visitors
Visitor days from the U.S. West market were off 13.5 percent as a result
of lower arrivals (-12.9%) and a shorter length of stay (-0.6% to 9.61
days).
A total of 164,674 U.S. West visitors came to the islands during the
month, 74.6 percent of whom were repeat visitors, down from the 75.9 percent
of last October.
Year-to-date, visitor days and arrivals have declined 1.4 percent and
1.6 percent, respectively. More U.S. West visitors came for vacation (+1.0%)
while visitors coming for honeymoons (-8.5%) and MCI travels (-19.8%) have
fallen.
Molokai reported increased arrivals (+5.8%) from the U.S. West during
October that contributed to the 3.3 percent growth for this island year-to-date.
Visitations on Oahu (+0.1%) and Lanai (0%) on a year-to-date basis remained
stable compared to the same period a year ago.
U.S. East Visitors
Lower visitor arrivals (-21.6%) from the U.S. East were offset by a
slightly longer length of stay (+0.8% to 9.87 days) resulting in a 21.0
percent drop in visitor days for October 2001. Year-to-date visitor days
declined 4.5 percent over the same period last year.
Of the 106,727 visitors from the U.S. East, 48 percent were repeat visitors
to Hawaii, up slightly from 47.9 percent during the previous October.
Year-to-date, 0.6 percent more U.S. East visitors came to vacation,
but fewer were here for MCI travel (-29.4%) and to honeymoon (-7.6%). Single-island
visitations to Molokai (+13.3%) and Oahu (+3.6%) on a year-to-date basis
were higher than the same period last year.
Japanese Visitors
Japanese visitor days during October decreased 41.8 percent due to a
54.1 percent drop in visitor arrivals which offset a longer average length
of stay (up from 5.29 to 6.70 days). A total of 67,440 Japanese visitors
came to the islands during the month. Of these, 48.9 percent were
repeat visitors, up from 42.4 percent during the previous October. Year-to-date
visitor days fell 4.4 percent from same period last year.
About 92 percent of all Japanese visitors chose hotels for their accommodation
during the month. However, the number of Japanese visitors who stayed in
hotels (-55.1%), on cruise ships (-70.1%) and condominiums (-44.6%) decreased
while those who stayed with friends and relatives (+152.7%) and in timeshare
properties (+42.7%) increased over last October.
Year-to-date, Molokai (+315.7%), Lanai (+109.6%) and Kauai (+2.6%)
continue to report increased arrivals from Japanese visitors when compared
to the same period last year.
Canadian Visitors
Canadian visitor days plunged 63.2 percent in October due to a 52.5
percent decline in arrivals and a shorter length of stay (-22.5% to 9.34
days). Of the total 8,200 Canadian visitors who came to the islands during
the month, 47.7 percent were first time visitors, up slightly from the
46.9 percent of the previous October. Year-to-date Canadian visitor days
and visitor arrivals decreased by 1.6 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.
Year-to-date, Oahu (+13.6%) and the Big Island (+6.0%) continue to report
higher visitor arrivals from the Canadian segment
when compared to last year. |