LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i saw strong growth in both visitor arrivals and spending in 2011, the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority reported Monday. Kaua‘i is the only Hawaiian island to experience an increase in visitor arrivals for every month in 2011, welcoming 1.02
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i saw strong growth in both visitor arrivals and spending in 2011, the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority reported Monday.
Kaua‘i is the only Hawaiian island to experience an increase in visitor arrivals for every month in 2011, welcoming 1.02 million visitors last year, a 6.3 percent increase over 2010, according to state tourism officials.
“Although the economy is predicted to grow very slowly, I think Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i are benefiting from a strong destination presence,” Kaua‘i County Council Chair Jay Furfaro said.
Furfaro has 38 years of hotel management experience, including 12 years with Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, 13 years with Outrigger Hotels & Resorts and as former president of the Kaua‘i Hotel Association.
He said he believes the strong recovery in Japanese tourism after the March tsunami, and the increase in the Oceania and Canadian markets will get the island back to its 1998 levels of 1.2 million visitors a year.
“The real good news is the growth in occupancy,” Furfaro said.
“A longer average stay with fewer visitors is the right strategy.”
The average length of stay for visitors went up 0.9 percent in 2011 over 2010.
With the money from the Hawai‘i Transient Accommodation Tax capped at $13 million for Kaua‘i County, Furfaro said the real benefactor is the state treasury.
For the month of December, there were 90,937 visitor arrivals on Kaua‘i, an increase of 12.3 percent from the year before. Tourists also opened their wallets, spending on average $185 per day per person, up from $167 a year ago.
At the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort in Po‘ipu, the hotel is coming off a strong December, Diann Hartman, director of public relations, said.
“It seems that we passed the worst of the downturn as far as travel goes,” Hartman said. “We’ve had a really, really busy holiday season, which was fantastic. The year has started out pretty well.”
County officials cited additional direct flights from Oakland and San Jose, Calif., to Lihu‘e, in addition to West Coast, Canada and kama‘aina marketing blitzes stemming from 2010 as factors for the increase.
“This is great news and points to a gradual economic recovery,” Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. stated in a county news release.
Kaua‘i County helped its own cause by spending $200,000 on promotional programs centered around the American Girl “Kanani” doll, the Kaua‘i Marathon and Kaua‘i Made Products, plus a kama‘aina campaign highlighting the Royal Coconut Coast resorts and a “Pirates of the Caribbean” sweepstakes.
“I think we’re seeing the positive results of all the marketing campaigns that were launched by the Kaua‘i Visitor’s Bureau in collaboration with the county over the last couple of years,” George Costa, director of the Office of Economic Development, said in the news release.
Across the state, Hawai‘i attracted 7,284,069 visitors in 2011, a 3.8 percent increase over 2010.
Visitor expenditures increased to $12.581 billion in 2011, a 15.6 percent increase over 2010 and the second-highest level of visitor spending in the state’s history.
In December, tourist spending reached $1.298 billion, the highest single month on record, according to the report.
“Airlift and access to the Hawaiian islands is essential for our visitor industry to flourish,” Hawai‘i Tourism Authority President and CEO Mike McCartney said in a statement.
It is expected that more direct flights to Neighbor Islands will continue the increased trend, and it is expected the first quarter of 2012 will sustain the momentum seen in 2011, according to the state tourism authority.
Kaua‘i tourism numbers
• Kaua‘i welcomed 1.02 million visitors in 2011, a 6.3 percent increase over 2010.
• Kaua‘i saw a 19.6 percent jump in Canadian visitors during the 2011 calendar year over 2010.
• Total expenditures for 2011 were $1,323.3 million, an 18.9 percent increase.
• On average, visitors spent $173 per person per day, up from $156 from 2010.
• The average length of stay for a visitor increased 0.9 percent in 2011.
• Andrea Frainier can be reached at 245-3681, ext. 257, or at afrainier@ thegardenisland.com.
