Hawaii Sets New Visitor Arrival Record For January

hawaiiTotal visitor arrivals to the Hawaiian Islands in January 2016 achieved a new record for the month with 720,997 visitors, a growth of 6.2 percent compared to January 2015, according to preliminary statistics recently released by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA).

This record total for January extended to 11 consecutive months that total visitor arrivals for Hawaii have exceeded previous monthly records. 

“The best January ever in terms of total visitor arrivals pumped $1.5 billion into our economy and generated $155.6 million in state tax revenue to support services and programs all of our communities need," said George D. Szigeti, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), in a written statement.

There were 239,844 visitors in Hawaii on any given day (average daily census) in January 2016, increasing 2.9 percent from a year ago with total visitor days also growing by 2.9 percent. With the exception of Canadian visitors, the average length of stay by visitors from most markets was shorter than in January 2015.

“The best January ever in terms of total visitor arrivals pumped $1.5 billion into our economy and generated $155.6 million in state tax revenue to support services and programs all of our communities need," said Szigeti.

Total visitor expenditures rose 2.9 percent (+40.8 million) to $1.5 billion in January 2016. Visitor expenditures increased from U.S. West (+7.7 percent), U.S. East (+3.2 percent) and all other international markets (+12.1 percent), but declined from Canada (-15 percent) and Japan (-4.1 percent). Statewide average daily spending of $196 per person was unchanged from January 2015, as higher spending by U.S. West visitors balanced lower spending by U.S. East, Japanese and Canadian visitors.

“Taxpayers demand that HTA make the best use of its state funding to support Hawaii’s tourism industry," said Szigeti. "We are meeting that expectation with a judicious, diversified marketing plan that has now attracted record totals of domestic and international travelers for 11 straight months."

Visit www.gohawaii.com and www.hawaiitourismauthority.org.