Kaua’i visitor spending, average length of stay and an increase in first-time visitors were the main highlights at the 2003 Kaua’i Visitors Bureau (KVB) annual membership luncheon held on Thursday in Po’ipu.
In addition, Governor Linda Lingle’s tourism liasion Marsha Weinert, the guest speaker at the event, said that Lingle will ask the state legislature for between $15-20 million in restoring Hawai’i parks.
According to park officials, the funds would be the largest spending proposal in the state’s history.
“Our message to the Hawaii Tourism Authority as well as the Legislature has been that a lot of the strength of Kaua’i’ is in land resources,” said KVB Executive Director Sue Kanoho. “But we are very concerned about these areas. They certainly need attention.”
Since over half of all state park land in the state is on Kaua’i, the proposed funds could provide an added boost to the island’s parks.
“These funds would certainly help in that area,” said Kanoho. “But, the question is how much we (Kaua’i) would get (of those funds).”
According to Wienert, the exact dollar figure of Lingle’s proposal is still in question. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources is in charge of finalizing the proposal before the Legislature convenes in January.
User fees could be part of the proposal package although general obligation bonds would also be used and would be repaid through the Hawai’i state general fund.
According to Wienert, the Governor could ask for twice the amount in 2005.
In addition to the state park proposal, KVB officials also discussed the island’s tourism market.
“Things are strong in terms of length of stay and visitor spending,” said Kanoho.
The KVB Executive Director cited Kaua’i’s visitor day total which was up five percentage points from last year, a total that was tops in Hawai’i.
In addition, Kaua’i ranked at the top in both average daily visitor spending and first-time visitors.
Visitors spent an average total of just over $143 per day, almost a dollar more than any other island. Fifty three percent of visitors to the island were first-timers which was 15 percent higher than another island in the state.
In information gathered by the KVB over 2003, the highest rated aspects of a vacation to Kaua’i were beaches, golf courses and sightseeing trips. The lowest rated aspect of the vacation was the use of public facilities.
According to Kanoho, timeshare continues to grow in importance especially among repeat visitors while the average expenditure per person, per day among honeymooners was significantly higher than any other visitors.
Other KVB statistics show that U.S. East tourists tend to plan their trip further in advance while 25 percent of visitors use frequent flyer miles for some or all of their flights to the island.
According to Kanoho, satisfaction at the Lihu’e Airport was rated as “very high.” Finally, many visitors to the island perceive Kaua’i to be an excellent destination for “wellness travel.”
Business Editor Barry Graham can be reached at 245-3681 Ext. 251 or mailto:bgraham@pulitzer.net
