LIHUE — A report from the Hawaii Tourism Authority says a second-half slide in visitors and was due in part to high fuel costs driving up travel fares — amounting to fewer seats and fewer dollars spent on island.
Brian Wekony of Boston said he has been bringing his family to Kauai for 20 years and that this year’s plane fare was expensive at $6,000 for four people. Their hotel for the first night was $320 when it was under $100 last time.
They are here for a daughter’s wedding and to save money they are renting a house for eight people for the remaining days.
“It still comes out cheaper than three hotel rooms,” Wekony said.
HTA President and CEO Mike McCartney said the leveling off came from aggressive competition from other tourist destinations, fuel costs, adjustments in pricing and fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Price conscious consumers are careful and this affects length of stay, accommodation preferences and spending, said an HTA report.
“We continue to work with our global contractors to adjust our marketing plans to address these forecasted shortfalls, which we project will continue through the first half of 2014,” McCartney stated.
This is the third consecutive monthly decline with the previous year with 620,051 visitor arrivals to Hawaii in November presenting a 5.5 percent drop from 2012. Total visitor expenditures decreased 2.1 percent to $1.1 billion statewide for the same month in contrast to the first 11 months that exceeded 2012.
Marketing pays off
Sue Kanoho, executive director, Kauai Visitors Bureau, said data showed early on that the West Coast market was softening and so KVB shifted its focus. The November arrivals dipped by 1.8 percent, however, Kauai is still up 3.6 percent to 1,022,734 for the year.
“We were pleased to see our total visitor expenditures were still strong and we had a slight increase in our length of stay,” Kanoho said. “We have been working to keep a presence in Canada and were pleased to see WestJet go daily with their flights.”
There were 3.6 percent fewer visitors from U.S. West, and 7.3 percent less from U.S. East in November. However, KVB’s outside market work paid off with a 9.9 percent increase in Kauai arrivals from Canada with more seats out of Vancouver and a 6.7 percent increase from Japan.
Kanoho said the exchange rates often have an impact on final decisions for people taking trips, but that it’s also important to “stay in the game for the long term for the markets of Canada and Japan.”
Cameron Carol and Leah Hill, of Fairbanks, said the air fare deal from Alaska to Kauai was the deciding factor.
“It was a cheaper ticket to fly to Hawaii from Alaska than to Mexico,” Carol said. “It’s definitely going to be more expensive to stay here.”
Hill said they rented a condo with a kitchen and laundry as opposed to a hotel. They buy their own groceries and are in Kapaa so they can ditch the rental car and bike around.
“Alaska is also expensive any where that you go,” Hill said.
The anticipated slowdown from the major markets prompted HTA to increase efforts to stimulate movement in North America and Japan, while strengthening the developing markets of China, Taiwan and Oceania.
“This includes enhancing marketing programs and airlift support to increase destination market share and balance Hawaii’s tourism economy,” McCartney said.
Tourism contributed $1.4 billion in state tax revenue through November. This is $40 million more than the same period last year.
Jennifer Downs, marketing director for Na Aina Kai Gardens in Kilauea, said November and December visitors were down about 30 percent. This followed an increase in September and a stable October.
“That was definitely a dramatic drop,” Downs said. “I don’t know why and we haven’t changed anything as far as advertising.”
The botanical garden and sculpture park and grove holds around six daily tours with an average of nine people per tour.
Na Aina Kai Gardens is also a wedding destination and the number of visitor and local events has increased even during the downturn. The new same-sex marriage law has not been a factor yet but they expect to see an increase of same-sex couples in 2014.
“I think we are getting a little more well known,” she said.
Numbers down
Lauren Agustin, of Kipu Ranch Adventures in Lihue, said she could not provide specific numbers but that it was clear that the numbers slowed in November after a steady summer leading into the fall.
The ATV scenic trail company has been booked through the second half of December through the first week of January.
“We started adding tours because we didn’t want to turn anybody away,” Agustin said. “For the moment we are steady and expect to slow after the winter break ends next week.”
HTA notes that November visitor expenditures increased on Kauai by 9.3 percent to $110.8 million.
Neil Y. Ishida, director of Public Relations for ABC Stores in Hawaii, said the November sales figures were slightly lower from the previous year. The customer counts were behind, but the average spending was up slightly, he added.
“This made for a near break-even month when comparing it to November 2012,” Ishida said.
The ABC Stores Kauai district manager reported an increase in boat arrivals in December that really helped, and in particular for the Nawiliwili store, Ishida added. There was both a slight increase in sales, and also spending amounts per customer.
“In December we were slightly ahead from the previous year and the trend has continued into January, in general,” Ishida said.
By ship and plane
Mani Silva, Kauai base manager for Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, said ships have a lot to do with making up for cyclical dips in air arrivals. The November dip is expected, just as the increase during the holiday break is anticipated, she said.
“A lot of it is because of the ships,” Silva said.
The ships average a day and half in port, and many of the passengers have already scheduled their flight in advance. It’s a way to see the island highlights before disembarking, she said.
For the first 11 months of 2013, arrivals by cruise ships were up 1.3 percent with 154,043 visitors statewide, according to HTA. In November, there were 24,928 visitors by water or by air to board a cruise ship, which is down 17.5 percent.
There were seven cruise ships in November 2013, compared to 12 ships a year ago, with a total 261,330 visitors coming by ship or by air to board cruise ships. The average stay by all cruise visitors was 7.54 days and down 11.9 percent from 2012.
Kelly Landsberger of Hastings, Minn., said he is a timeshare points owner who vacations some place warm each winter. He saves for it all year long and this was his first trip to Hawaii.
“We had a busy time on Oahu, and are now here on Kauai to relax for the second week,” Landsberger said.
