LIHUE — Summer sales soared this year at Pedal ‘n Paddle, a sports and recreation store located in the heart of Hanalei at Ching Young Village. June, July and August are always the shop’s busiest months, said owner Scott Olson.
LIHUE — Summer sales soared this year at Pedal ‘n Paddle, a sports and recreation store located in the heart of Hanalei at Ching Young Village.
June, July and August are always the shop’s busiest months, said owner Scott Olson. But this year’s seasonal sales bump took the cake. He estimates that the store experienced a 10 percent year-over-year increase in sales over the course of the three summer months.
“Overall, I’d say it was a good year for us and overall we’ll be up,” he said.
Visitor spending on the Garden Isle is on the rise thanks to a 5 percent year-over-year growth in arrivals through October.
Visitor spending on Kauai shot up 15 percent during this 10-month period to $1.3 billion, according to data from Hawaii Tourism Authority. In October alone, year-over-year visitor spending increased by 16 percent to almost $126 million, HTA said.
On Kauai, per person per day spending through October averaged $180.4, an 11.2 percent increase from $162.2 last year through October.
Visitor arrivals to Kauai through October totaled 979,574, an increase of 4.9 percent from 934,073 last year. October saw 92,099 visitors on Kauai, a 7.9 percent increase from October 2014.
Total visitor expenditures on Kauai in October totaled $125.5 million, a 16 percent increase from $108 million in October 2014.
“Kauai is leading the way in spending growth for the state,” said HTA President and CEO George Szigeti.
Despite these gains for Kauai, spending statewide continues to plateau as visitors are adjusting how long they stay and how much they spend while in the Hawaiian islands, HTA said.
On Oahu, for example, visitor spending is down nearly 2 percent so far this year, coming in at about $6 billion.
Nonetheless, Szigeti said Hawaii is still pacing ahead of 2014, with spending reaching $12.5 billion and contributing $1.3 billion in state tax revenue.
“As we look ahead, we are monitoring issues that could impact our industry, including the U.S. State Department’s worldwide travel alert and global economic conditions,” Szigeti said. “We are also working with out international marketing partners to monitor issues in their respective regions.”
A rare worldwide travel alert was issued by the U.S. State Department last week, signaling possible travel risks as terror attacks continue to be planned by extremists across the globe.
It’s unclear whether and to what degree the alert will impact travel and tourism in Hawaii.
