Governor Josh Green, M.D.

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM

 

RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS DIVISION

 

JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR

JAMES KUNANE TOKIOKA

DIRECTOR

1. EUGENE TIAN
   CHIEF STATE ECONOMIST

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 29, 2024

 

TOURISM INDUSTRY CONTINUED TO SHOW WEAKNESS IN JANUARY 2024

 

HONOLULU – In January 2024, total visitor arrivals to the Hawaiian Islands (763,480 visitors, -3.6%) and total visitor spending measured in nominal dollars ($1.81 billion, -4.5%) declined compared to January 2023, according to preliminary statistics from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT). Since the August 2023 Maui wildfires, total visitor arrivals were down in five out of the last six months while total visitor spending recorded six consecutive months of decreases from 2023. When compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, January 2024 total visitor arrivals represent a 93.4 percent recovery from January 2019 and total visitor spending was higher than January 2019 ($1.62 billion, +11.9%).

 

In January 2024, 745,644 visitors arrived by air service, mainly from the U.S. West and U.S. East. Additionally, 17,836 visitors came via out-of-state cruise ships. In comparison, 775,132 visitors (-3.8%) arrived by air and 16,648 visitors (+7.1%) came by cruise ships in January 2023, and 805,567 visitors (-7.4%) arrived by air and 12,033 visitors (+48.2%) came by cruise ships in January 2019. The average length of stay by all visitors in January 2024 was 9.85 days, compared to 10.16 days (-3.0%) in January 2023 and 9.94 days (-0.9%) in January 2019. The statewide average daily census^[1]was 242,700 visitors in January 2024, compared to 259,514 visitors (-6.5%) in January 2023 and 262,235 visitors (-7.4%) in January 2019.

 

In January 2024, 356,174 visitors arrived from the U.S. West, down from January 2023 (383,351 visitors, -7.1%), but an increase compared to January 2019 (317,655 visitors, +12.1%). U.S. West visitor spending of $768.2 million, decreased from January 2023 ($804.4 million, -4.5%), but much higher than January 2019 ($556.7 million, +38.0%). Daily spending by U.S. West visitors in January 2024 ($231 per person) was higher than January 2023 ($222 per person, +4.3%) and considerably more than in January 2019 ($180 per person, +28.5%).

 

In January 2024, arrivals from the U.S. East of 192,490 visitors declined compared to January 2023 (213,286 visitors, -9.8%), but increased from January 2019 (185,253 visitors, +3.9%). U.S. East visitor spending of $579.0 million decreased from January 2023 ($618.9 million, -6.4%) but was much higher than in January 2019 ($462.9 million, +25.1%). Daily spending by U.S. East visitors in January 2024 ($261 per person) was up from January 2023 ($255 per person, +2.4%) and considerably more than in January 2019 ($216 per person, +20.7%).

 

There were 52,911 visitors from Japan in January 2024, which was up significantly compared to January 2023 (32,305 visitors, +63.8%), but still much lower than January 2019 (120,418 visitors, -56.1%). Visitors from Japan spent $78.8 million in January 2024, compared to $58.1 million (+35.6%) in January 2023 and $173.4 million (-54.5%) in January 2019. Daily spending by Japanese visitors in January 2024 ($240 per person) was more than in January 2023 ($237 per person, +1.1%) and was similar to January 2019 ($240 per person, 0.0%).

 

In January 2024, 54,002 visitors arrived from Canada, which was less than January 2023 (56,501 visitors, -4.4%) and January 2019 (69,687 visitors, -22.5%). Visitors from Canada spent $155.3 million in January 2024, compared to $154.4 million (+0.5%) in January 2023 and $165.4 million (-6.2%) in January 2019. Daily spending by Canadian visitors in January 2024 ($224 per person) was more than in January 2023 ($206 per person, +9.0%) and in January 2019 ($167 per person, +34.4%).

 

There were 90,068 visitors from all other international markets in January 2024, which included visitors from Oceania, Other Asia, Europe, Latin America, Guam, the Philippines, and the Pacific Islands. In comparison, there were 89,689 visitors (+0.4%) from all other international markets in January 2023 and 112,554 visitors (-20.0%) in January 2019.

 

In January 2024, a total of 4,884 transpacific flights with 1,100,758 seats serviced the Hawaiian Islands, down from 5,211 flights (-6.3%) with 1,156,026 seats (-4.8%) in January 2024 and 5,158 flights (-5.3%) with 1,134,182 seats (-2.9%) in January 2019.

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Statement by DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka:

 

There were incidents in January 2024 which affected our tourism recovery. The tragic accident at Haneda Airport in Japan and the grounding of Boeing 737-9 Max airplanes resulted in flight cancellations and reduced visitor arrivals. Cruise numbers continued to be strong in January 2024 with a 7.1 percent increase in cruise visitors. The cruise market has fully recovered since last year as compared with the numbers in 2019.

 

Locally, the Maui wildfires continued to impact visitors to Maui six months after the tragedy. Maui’s visitor counts decreased by 23.5 percent compared to January 2023, although there has been progress from August 2023 when visitor arrivals were down by 57.8 percent. With the active recovery efforts and campaigns, we hope to see continuous improvements over the upcoming months.

 

 

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Media Contacts:

 

Laci Goshi

Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism

808-518-5480

[email protected]

 

Jennifer Chun

Director of Tourism Research

Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism

808-973-9446

[email protected]

 

[1] Average daily census measures the number of visitors present on any given day.