LIHU‘E — Visitor spending topped the one-quarter billion dollar mark in the first full month of summer, as tourism dollars continued to flow into Kaua‘i at an eye-popping rate.
The spending total surged to $251.4 million in June, compared with $231.2 in June 2022 and $196.1 million in pre-pandemic June 2019, according to a monthly report from the state of Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism (DBEDT). That marked gains of 8.7 percent and 28.2 percent, respectively.
Total visitor spending has exceeded $200 million in each month of the current calendar year, with January posting the previous the high at $234.6 million.
For the six-month period ended June 30, visitor spending soared to $1.33 billion from $1.06 billion in the same period of 2022 and from $963.6 million in the same period of 2019. That marked increases of 26.2 percent and 38.1 percent, respectively.
The spending figure for June came amid a slight decrease in tourists to 129,905 from 133,517 in June 2022 and 134,790 in June 2019.
For the six-month period ended June 30, the visitor count measured 693,618, in part because of a strong start to the year. That was up from 644,139 in the same period of 2022 and from 686,539 in the same period of 2019. That was up 7.7 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively.
Neighbor islands
Visitor spending was also higher on the other three major islands.
Spending on O‘ahu weighed in at $848.9 million in June. That was up from $787.9 million in June 2022 and from $738.1 million in June 2019. That marked gains of 7.7 percent and 15.0 percent, respectively.
For the six-month period ended June 30, visitor spending leaped to $4.41 billion from $4.00 billion in the same period of 2022 and from $4.02 billion in the same period of 2019. That marked increases of 10.1 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively.
Spending on Maui was $619.4 million in June, compared with $549.8 million in June 2022 and $477.1 million in June 2019. That was up 12.7 percent and 29.8 percent, respectively.
For the six-month period ended June 30, visitor spending jumped to $3.47 billion from $2.79 billion in the same period of 2022 and from $2.61 billion in the same period of 2019. That marked gains of 24.6 percent and 33.2 percent, respectively.
Spending on Hawai‘i Island rose to $263.4 million in June from $247.2 million in June 2022 and $205.8 million in June 2019. That represented increases of 6.6 percent and 28.0 percent, respectively.
For the six-month period ended June 30, visitor spending climbed to $1.43 billion from $1.28 billion in the same period of 2022 and from $1.16 billion in the same period of 2019. That was up 11.8 percent and 24.2 percent, respectively.
All told, visitors spent $2.00 billion in June across the island chain. For the six-month period ended June 30, spending measured $10.78 billion, up mightily from $9.23 billion in the same period of 2022 and from $8.86 billion in the same period of 2019.
Tourist counts across the island chain were also strong in the first full month of summer.
“June visitor statistics indicate that our visitor industry continues a steady recovery. The total visitor arrivals of 889,724 in June 2023 were the third-highest June in our history,” said Jimmy Kunane Tokioka, director of the DBEDT, in a statement.
He pointed toward the Japanese market as a key reason visitor statistics are rebounding.
“Japanese arrivals in June 2023 at 46,753 was the highest since March 2020 and represented a 36.9 percent recovery from the same month in 2019. In DBEDT’s tourism forecast, we expect Japanese arrivals will recover to about 50 percent of the 2019 level by the end of the year.”
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Wyatt Haupt Jr., editor, can be reached at 808-245-0457 or whaupt@thegardenisland.com.
