LIHU‘E — Things might be looking up for the tourism industry on Kaua‘i, as visitor spending increased for the island more than any other county in the state during September, said Office of Economic Development Director George Costa. Overall expenditures
LIHU‘E — Things might be looking up for the tourism industry on Kaua‘i, as visitor spending increased for the island more than any other county in the state during September, said Office of Economic Development Director George Costa.
Overall expenditures were up more than four percent and Kaua‘i was the only county in September to show an increase of almost 8 percent in per-person spending, he wrote in an e-mail Thursday.
Visitor arrivals increased by two percent on Kaua‘i for September compared to the same month last year. Maui was nearly the same, but O‘ahu grew more than 11 percent and the Big Island reached an almost 10 percent increase.
“Some of the reasons for O‘ahu and Big Island numbers increasing on a higher percentage is that their numbers in previous years were much lower … so any increase will have a much greater impact then Kaua‘i and Maui who enjoyed great arrivals and occupancies in years past,” Costa wrote in an e-mail via county spokesperson Mary Daubert.
The recent increases the island has seen are likely attributed to the Kaua‘i Marathon which brought an influx of visitors during September, Costa added.
On the other hand, Po‘ipu Beach Resort Association Executive Director Jody Kono Kjeldsen said “travel from the leisure market on the South Shore remained at the same level” for September as it had in the same month in 2008.
“What has changed is travel from the group market or CMI (conventions, meetings and incentives),” she wrote in an e-mail Thursday. “This decline is largely due to the state of the economy and organizations, both corporate and association, opting not to host meetings in destinations such as Hawai‘i.”
Implemented in late July, the Kaua‘i Visitor Bureau County Stimulus Program is still hard at work to boost those declining numbers, Costa said.
Part of the $1 million taxpayer package was a Pacific Northwest Blitz which ended Wednesday. One impact of the blitz thus far is the amount of hits to the Kaua‘i Made Web site. Traffic increased almost 45 percent from Washington state and nearly 9 percent from Canada between Sept. 21 and Oct. 7, compared to the same period last year, said Beth Tokioka, a founder of Kaua‘i Made.
“Part of the promotion in each city was a consumer event where Kaua‘i Made products were featured,” Tokioka said. “So the stimulus funding can assist local businesses even if visitors are not actually traveling here.”
Even though the economy may not be as heated as it was in past years, the dip in visitor arrivals has allowed the island’s environment a chance to recuperate from overflowing hotels, jammed streets and overcrowded beaches, said Surfrider Foundation’s Gordon LaBedz on Thursday.
“All of us who lived here had to suffer,” he said.
Not only is there less traffic, but beaches are not as littered and life has generally become more pleasant for visitors and those who reside on Kaua‘i, he said.
“To have tourism be sustainable, you have to have a sustainable infrastructure,” he said.
For more visitor industry statistics, visit hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/visitor-stats/tourism.
•Coco Zickos, business and environmental writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com.
