It's Official: Hawaii Had a Record-Breaking 2005

The final tallies are in, and travel to Hawaii set several records in 2005, according to the newly released 2005 Annual Visitor Research Report prepared by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Visitor spending, visitor days and arrivals all set records. Total visitor days last year hit 68.2 million; arrivals were at 7.5 million; and visitor spending rose by 9.6 percent from a year earlier to a record $11.9 billion. Providing a large measure of the increase were domestic travelers. In good news for the destination as well as the industry, although both were strong, the rate of increase in spending outpaced the rate of increase in arrivals. Visitors who flew to Hawaii from places west of the Rockies spent $4.3 billion, 10 percent more than their 2004 counterparts, on an arrivals increase of 9.6 percent. Those from east of the Rockies spent $3.6 billion, a year-over-year increase of 11.1 percent, while arrivals climbed by 6.9 percent.