Called “a very valuable tool for careful market analysis and strategic planning,” the state recently released the 1999 Annual Visitor Research Report. It provides extensive information on the eight major markets targeted by the Hawai’i Tourism Authority, and expands greatly
Called “a very valuable tool for careful market analysis and strategic planning,” the state recently released the 1999 Annual Visitor Research Report.
It provides extensive information on the eight major markets targeted by the Hawai’i Tourism Authority, and expands greatly on preliminary data that had been previously released.
Data in the report include visitor characteristics by country of origin, island visitation, and month of arrival.
“The data in this report allow us to more carefully characterize the visitor industry’s trends, and its direction,” said Dr.
Seiji Naya, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT).
“The challenge will be a careful analytical reading to define clear directions for the industry,” he said.
The report shows that more visitors came to the islands in 1999 compared to 1998, and stayed longer, increasing visitor days by 4.5 percent.
The 1999 total visitor expenditures remained roughly the same as 1998, at $10.3 billion.
Other highlights of the report follow: * Convention attendance was one of the fastest-growing reasons for travel to Hawai’i from the mainland, up nearly 20 percent in 1999; * The U.S.
east market replaced Japan as the second-highest source of visitor expenditures in 1999, with U.S.
west remaining in first place; Nearly half of U.S.
east visitors were first-time visitors last year, compared to only 25 percent for the U.S.
west market; * Some 20 percent of Japanese visitors came to Hawai’i for a wedding or honeymoon, up 16 percent from 1998 and the only category in the Japan market to show an increase for 1999; Overall, the Japan market showed a nearly 9 percent decline in total visitor days; * Some 44 percent of European visitors are repeat visitors, with an average of two previous trips; * Australia and New Zealand (Oceania) constitute one of the highest-spending markets, at $194 per person per day, and stay an average of 8.5 days.
Also recently released was the 1999 Visitor Plant Inventory Report, showing the state had around 72,000 visitor rooms.
The inventory report can be used to help measure the potential for visitor growth and diversification in the near future.
The two reports are available at the DBEDT Web site, www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/stats.html.
