It will take one of the largest December arrival counts in recent years to push the island over the one-million-visitor mark for the sixth straight year. The December and full-year statistics won’t be available until the end of this month,
It will take one of the largest December arrival counts in recent years to push the island over the one-million-visitor mark for the sixth straight year.
The December and full-year statistics won’t be available until the end of this month, but through November 898,197 Kaua’i arrivals had been recorded, meaning the island would had to have hosted 101,803 visitors last month to push past the one-million-visitor plateau.
The island hasn’t greeted over 100,000 visitors in December in at least five years, with the best December during that period the 86,260 in 1998.
Still, Jerry Gibson, president of the Poipu Beach Resort Association and general manager of the Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort & Spa in Po’ipu, thinks the island had a 100,000-visitor month in December.
“I think we did” go over 100,000, Gibson said Friday. The Sheraton Kauai Resort at Po’ipu was full, as was the Princeville Resort, many area condominiums, and the Hyatt, he said.
“I would say yeah,” the island went over one million visitors last month, he repeated.
“I think we did very well as an island, and I think we did over 100,000 visitors.” The airlines had sold-out periods, also. “It was a great New Year’s and a great Christmas.
“Hopefully, the first-time visitors will repeat. We’ve just got to get the weather a little bit better,” Gibson said with a laugh.
Kaua’i greeted 72,293 visitors in November 2003, down over 8 percent compared to 78,657 in November of 2002. For the first 11 months of 2003, Kaua’i’s arrival figure was off 2.9 percent compared to the same period in 2002, when 924,599 visitors came.
Visitor arrivals in November 2003 from the U.S. East (east of the Rockies) and U.S. West to Kaua’i were both down from the November 2002 figures, according to data from the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.
But numbers of visitors from all areas (except Canada) who chose to come only to Kaua’i and no other island in Hawai’i were up for both the month and 11 months.
Associate Editor Paul C. Curtis may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
| YEAR |
December Kaua’i Visitor Arrivals |
Annual Kaua’i Visitor Arrivals |
| 2002 |
78,975 |
1,000,826 |
| 2001 |
71,216 |
1,004,696 |
| 2000 |
81,851 |
1,079,061 |
| 1999 |
78,680 |
1,091,790 |
| 1998 |
86,260 |
1,038,830 |
| Source: State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism |
