HONOLULU – Total expenditures by visitors who came to Hawai‘i in April 2012 climbed 26.8 percent over the previous year (or $246.5 million) to $1.17 billion according to preliminary statistics released today by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority. This was the highest total expenditures on record for April*. There were 647,194 visitors in April 2012, an 11.3 percent increase in total visitor arrivals. This was also a new record in arrivals for the month of April, surpassing the previous high of 618,230 visitors in April 2006. Higher daily spending (+10.4% to $194 per person) also contributed to the record total visitor expenditures.
Among the top four visitor markets, arrivals by air from U.S. West rose 3 percent compared to April 2011 to 277,809 visitors. Total U.S. West visitor expenditures were up 13.1 percent to $401.1 million in April 2012, the eighth straight month of growth since September 2011.
Japanese arrivals continued to rebound with an increase of 36.2 percent to 86,685 visitors, though well below the April 1997 record of 157,640 Japanese visitors. Total Japanese visitor expenditures in April 2012 jumped 45.8 percent to $153.7 million.
U.S. East arrivals by air grew 1.8 percent to 122,792 visitors. However, lower daily spending (-4.9% to $174 per person) resulted in a 2 percent decline in total U.S. East expenditures to $206.2 million. Canadian arrivals increased 3.3 percent to 45,937 visitors, while total Canadian visitor expenditures rose 5.5 percent to $84 million, continuing a trend of year-over-year growth since January 2011.
Also contributing to the strong growth in April 2012 was a doubling of visitors who came by cruise ships (to 30,972 visitors). All Hawaiian Islands saw growth in total visitor expenditures and arrivals for April 2012.
Total visitor expenditures for the first four months of 2012 rose 16.7 percent (or $682.1 million), from the same period last year, to $4.78 billion. Total arrivals grew 9.4 percent to 2,632,149 visitors in the first four months of 2012, with increases from all visitor markets compared to a year ago.
Island Highlights:
•Total visitor expenditures on Maui climbed 23.9 percent to $306.6 million in April 2012. Arrivals to Maui rose 4 percent while daily spending was noticeably higher (+20.8%) compared to April 2011. An increase in arrivals from Japan (+44.4%), U.S. East (+3.2%) and U.S. West (+1.4%) contributed a significant portion of Maui’s growth. For the first four months of 2012, total arrivals to Maui grew 5.9 percent while total visitor expenditures increased 17.5 percent to $1.3 billion.
•Among the larger Hawaiian Islands, O‘ahu (+12.9%) had the strongest growth in arrivals for April 2012. O‘ahu’s higher daily spending (+6.5%) also contributed to a 31.5 percent jump in total visitor expenditures to $589.8 million. The growth in arrivals was fueled by a 30 percent increase in visitors coming directly to Hawai‘i on international flights. For the first four months of 2012, arrivals to O‘ahu rose 10.2 percent and total visitor expenditures grew 19 percent to $2.3 billion.
• Total visitor expenditures on Hawai‘i Island grew 23.7 percent to $141.4 million in April 2012. Arrivals increased 7.3 percent compared to April 2011, led by a 67.9 percent growth from Japan and an 8.5 percent increase from Canada. The average daily spending on Hawai‘i Island was much higher (+17.6%) compared to last April. Total arrivals to this island increased 8 percent in the first four months of 2012, while total visitor expenditures grew 12.2 percent to $627.6 million.
• In April 2012, a 4.6 percent growth in arrivals to Kaua‘i and higher daily spending (+1.9%) contributed to a 10.2 percent increase in total visitor expenditures to $109 million. This was the 17th consecutive month of positive growth in total visitor spending for this island. Arrivals to Kaua‘i increased largely from the U.S. East (+5.7%). For the first four months of 2012, arrivals to Kaua‘i rose 9.2 percent while total visitor expenditures grew 9.4 percent to $436.6 million.
[*] Total visitor expenditure statistics presented in this press release are not adjusted for inflation (nominal dollars). When adjusted, total visitor expenditures in April 2012 was still the highest on record. Total visitor expenditures were adjusted using the U.S. Consumer Price Index.
Read the entire report here.
