Buoyed by record-setting visitor arrivals and a surge in spending, October 2004 went down as the best in Hawai‘i’s history. And Kaua‘i did pretty well, too. Visitors to Kaua‘i spent $86.4 million last month, and by October, had spent $932
Buoyed by record-setting visitor arrivals and a surge in spending, October 2004 went down as the best in Hawai‘i’s history.
And Kaua‘i did pretty well, too.
Visitors to Kaua‘i spent $86.4 million last month, and by October, had spent $932 million for the year to date, putting Kaua‘i on track to possibly break the billion-dollar mark by the end of the year.
“It’s been a very good year for Kaua‘i so far,” said Margy Parker, executive director of the Poipu Beach Resort Association. “We’ve been slightly off here and there throughout the year, but we’re tracking with longer lengths of stay and increases in Kaua‘i-only visitors.”
Those factors, along with more direct air service to Kaua‘i, could mean a banner year for visitor expenditures, she said.
Visitor days are up, visitor arrivals are up, average length of stay is slightly up, spending is up — all good indicators that Kaua‘i is on track for a banner year.
But as for Kaua‘i breaking a billion dollars this year, Parker is playing it safe.
“I’m not sure how the numbers will translate into a true economic picture,” she said.
Some Southshore lodging suppliers have reported that their fall season has seemed “soft” compared to last year, Parker said.
More than 86,000 visitors came to Kaua‘i in October. For the first 10 months of the year, 859,170 visitors came to Kaua‘i, up 3.9 percent over last year.
The Kaua‘i-only visitor numbers for the last 10 months show a 13.9 percent lead over the same period last year. So far this year, 370,680 visitors have come directly to Kaua‘i — that’s more than a third of all visitors here.
The average visitor spent $999.50 in October, and spent nearly seven days on Kaua‘i. As of October, 859,170 visitors had come to the Garden Isle so far this year, and spent an average of $1,084.80 per person per trip.
Statewide, 560,134 visitors spent $849 million in October, and the Japanese spent the most per person in October, with an average of $255 per day, followed by those from the U.S. East, who spent $178 per day.
However, when it comes to overall spending per trip to the islands, no group could beat visitors from the U.S. East (from areas east of the Rocky Mountains). Per trip for the year-to-date, U.S. East visitors spent $1,665 per person per trip, followed by visitors from all other markets ($1,624 per person), Canada ($1,621 per person), Japan ($1,427 per person) and the U.S. West ($1,344 per person).
Most of the good news can be attributed to nearly double-digit point jumps in arrivals in both domestic and international markets.
Arrivals from the domestic sector rose 9.8 percent to a new October record of 383,576 visitors. International visitor arrivals increased 9.3 percent. Arrivals from Japan rose 8.5 percent, while Canadian visitor arrivals jumped 17 percent compared to October 2003.
Collectively, they contributed to a 4-percent growth in total visitor days for October 2004 compared to the same month last year, according to data released Monday by the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.
In order to handle the increase in visitors, airline companies offered more flights to the islands this year than last year — a sure sign that Hawai‘i’s primary lifeline is getting healthier.
“Contributing to the October increase was a 10.4-percent growth in airline seats,” said Marsha Wienert, state tourism liaison.
Romance was in the air in October. The honeymoon market — one of Kaua‘i’s fastest-growing segments — did extremely well in October.
“The honeymoon market continues to remain strong, as evidenced by the 13.6-percent increase in this market segment,” Wienert said.
Visitors have spent $8.5 billion so far this year across the state.
Phil Hayworth, business editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or phayworth@pulitzer.net
