Hawaii sees sharp fall in October Japanese visitors – 06/12/07

US (HAWAII). Japanese visitor numbers to Hawaii fell sharply by -8.3% in October, according to preliminary statistics released by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT).

Visitors from this key visitor group were down compared to October 2006, but arrivals from Canada rose +10%, US West arrivals were steady (+0.1%), and US East dipped by -2.3%.

Total arrival numbers for October fell by -1.3% to 562,636 visitors, resulting in a -1.1% decline in total visitor days. The average length of stay was virtually unchanged at 8.9 days.

For the year through October 2007 total visitor days decreased -1.9% compared to 2006, while total arrivals were off by -1.1%. Among the top four visitor markets, arrivals from Japan fell by -3.2% and the US East (-2.7%) were lower compared to the first ten months of 2006. However the US West (+.6%) and Canada (+2.6%) registered upswings.

“Overall Hawaii’s visitor industry remains sound with continued growth in visitor expenditures,” said State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert. “We are especially pleased with the increase in visitors who came to the islands for conventions and corporate meetings and the strong growth in arrivals from the Pacific Northwest.”

Visitor expenditure figures for October 2007 rose US$6.9 million or +0.7% over last October to reach US$966.8 million. Japanese expenditure dipped by -0.9% to US$177 million during the month.

Expenditure for the first ten months of 2007 totalled US$10.1 billion, edging up +0.6% or US$64.9 million compared to the same period last year. Japanese spend totalled US$1.7 billion for the year to date, some -2.0% down on last time.

Average daily visitor spending for October grew from US$190 per person in 2006 to US$194 per person in 2007 and for the first ten months of 2007 daily spending also climbed +2.6% to US$181 per person.

MORE STORIES ON HAWAII TOURISM

Hawaiian arrivals fall in September; Japanese spend up but visitors down – 07/11/07

Japanese deliver August boost to Hawaii tourism as visitor numbers and spends rise – 16/10/07

Japanese honeymoon and wedding travel to Hawaii picks up, but overall numbers soft – 31/07/07

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