The number of cruise-ship passengers in Hawai’i in 2002 is expected to be 56 percent higher than this year, from 160,000 to 250,000. The Norwegian Star, the sole ship cruising Hawaii waters exclusively, is effectively sold out (2,000-plus passengers arriving
The number of cruise-ship passengers in Hawai’i in 2002 is expected to be 56 percent higher than this year, from 160,000 to 250,000.
The Norwegian Star, the sole ship cruising Hawaii waters exclusively, is effectively sold out (2,000-plus passengers arriving at Nawiliwili Harbor each Saturday) for nearly the first half of the year.
Even better news came for the visitor industry when the state figures revealed an increase to Kaua’i from the all-important U.S. west market for November.
Tigermania struck again, sending over 32,000 visitors from the U.S. west region (states west of the Rockies) to the state, a 6.5 percent increase compared to November of last year. Many came to attend the PGA Grand Slam of Golf featuring superstar Tiger Woods. The arrivals figure made Kaua’i the only island to post an increase in that month’s U.S. west arrivals compared to November 2000.
Most of the U.S. west visitors to Hawai’i and Kaua’i hail from California. Kaua’i enjoyed a drop of only 0.2 percent, also lowest in the state, in all November domestic arrivals, with nearly 60,000 of the total of 67,000 total Kaua’i arrivals for the month.
By contrast, the other counties had double-digit decreases in domestic arrivals, with the Big Island off 9.2 percent.
Kaua’i hosted 933,000 people through the end of November, according to figures from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. That just about guarantees over one million Kaua’i visitors for the second straight year.
Regarding the increase in cruise-ship passengers, cruise line officials say that in the wake of the terrorist attacks, they repositioned their ships to Hawai’i and other North American destinations viewed as being safer than foreign destinations.
Even though domestic visitors came in droves, though, and the U.S. west arrivals stayed longer than normal on Kaua’i (just under seven days), the island’s hotels and resort condominiums took a beating in occupancies.
Kaua’i’s overall occupancy last month was 61.8 percent, down from 68.3 percent in November of last year. Hotels on Kaua’i had the state’s best occupancy, at 68.9 percent, but the resort condominiums were worst among the counties, at 46.7 percent.
Staff writer Paul C. Curtis contributed to this report.
