Visitors spend more, stay longer

LIHUE — The latest statistics say visitors are spending less in Hawaii.

Not so on Kauai.

Guests not only spent more, but stayed longer, too.

According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, arrivals to Kauai in January totaled 91,161, down 1 percent from January 2013. But daily spending climbed 10.2 percent per person to $193 and the length of stay increased 7.5 percent to 9.1 days. The end result was a 17.2 percent growth in visitor expenditures to $160 million in January.

“If you look at how we have increased our length of stay, which often translates to a positive increase on visitor expenditures, we are still in good shape,” said Sue Kanoho, executive of the Kauai Visitors Bureau.

Kauai posted a stronger showing than Oahu, where visitor spending fell 12.4 percent to $587 million and Maui, where it decreased 6.3 percent to $377 million in January.

Kauai will have to work hard to keep the visitors coming here.

Kanoho said one of Kauai’s main competitors came into the U.S. West market with a substantial increase in marketing funds, which can often pose a challenge for visitors who have a choice of where they want to go to spend their hard earned dollars.

But she believes Kauai will hold its own.

“Summer has always been a strong season for us, and we are hopeful it will continue that pace for 2014,” she said.

Hawaii Tourism Authority CEO Mike McCartney said Thursday the tourism economy is starting to plateau after two years of record-breaking growth.

“This year will be challenging for our tourism economy with increased global competition and the volatility of the world economy,” he said.