LIHU‘E — An economic malaise brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have found its elixir in tourists and their spending power.
For the eighth month in a row, the number of people who visited Kaua‘i hit six figures, as the total climbed to 109,158 in October from 102,662 in October 2019, according to data released on Monday, Nov. 28, by the state Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism. That marked a gain of 6.3 percent from the pre-pandemic era in October 2019.
Visitors to the Garden Island also ponied up big bucks while on holiday or otherwise, as evidenced by a 21.9 percent increase in spending to $173 million in October from $141.9 million in October 2019.
Additionally, the average daily census on Kaua‘i was 26,525 in October, up from 23,228 in October 2019. That marked an increase of 13.7 percent.
Neighboring islands posted strong numbers in October as well, with visitor spending well above $650 million on O‘ahu, $400 million in Maui, and $200 million on Hawai‘i Island. All told, visitor spending on the four islands weighed in at nearly $1.5 billion in October.
The October data continued to point toward recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that paralyzed local, state, national and worldwide economies before finally losing its grip. Recovery has been fueled, in part, by international visitors to the islands.
“The October visitor statistics indicate that our tourism industry continues towards a positive recovery due to a strong U.S. market with total arrivals from all markets year-to-date at 88.6 percent of the same period 2019 level with spending at $15.8 billion so far this year,” said Mike McCartney, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism, in a statement.
“January to October international arrivals started to recover by 38.1 percent with visitors from Japan gaining momentum at 10.3 percent, from all Japanese travelers, for the same 10 months in 2019. With the expectation of the Japanese yen exchange rate dropping to $134 in 2023 from $148 in 2022, further relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions worldwide and lower airline fuel surcharges, we expect the recovery of international visitors to accelerate in 2023.”
Island highlights
The island of O‘ahu attracted the most visitors in October at 390,845. But that number was off 16.7 percent from 469,339 visitors in October 2019. On the upside, visitor spending climbed 10 percent to $664.2 million from $603.8 million in the same period.
The average daily census on O‘ahu was 90,556 visitors in October, compared with 97,715 visitors in October 2019, the department data showed. That was down 7.3 percent.
The island of Maui recorded the second highest number of visitors in October at 228,071. That figure was down 4.2 percent from 238,043 visitors in October 2019.
Despite the drop in visitors, spending surged 13.5 percent to $431.2 million from $379.8 million in the same period. The average daily census on Maui was 58,924 in October, off 1.2 percent from 59,620 in October 2019.
Hawai‘i Island was the third most popular spot for visitors with 141,283 in October, compared with 130,336 in October 2019. That marked an increase of 8.4 percent.
At the same time, visitor spending surged 26.7 percent to $224.3 million from $177 million. The average daily census on Hawai‘i Island was 36,688 visitors, compared with 30,048. That was up 22.1 percent.
The positive data could be a harbinger of years ahead for the local and state economies.
“We remain optimistic with the international visitor steadily returning to provide a healthy market mix by 2025,” said McCartney.
”As we slowly start to host visitors and create economic opportunities for our communities, in the long run Hawai‘i will be well positioned by reinventing its offerings and caring for and protecting our natural resources and services that are crucial to maintain a competitive edge with other destinations,” McCartney said in a statement.
“Malama ku‘u home, caring for our beloved home, will attract the right mix of visitors and support quality local jobs and businesses.”
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Wyatt Haupt Jr., editor, can be reached at 808-245-0457 or whaupt@thegardenisland.com.
