According to preliminary visitor statistics released by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), total visitor spending as measured by nominal dollars was $1.71 billion in August 2022, an increase of 13.8 percent compared to the $1.50 billion reported for August 2019.
A total of 829,699 visitors arrived by air service in August 2022, mainly from U.S. West and U.S. East. There were no out-of-state cruise activities during the month. A total of 926,417 visitors (-10.4%) came in August 2019 and all arrived by air service. The average length of stay by visitors in August 2022 was 9.07 days, up from 8.46 days (+7.1%) in August 2019. The statewide average daily census[1] was 242,692 visitors in August 2022 compared to 252,916 visitors (-4%) in August 2019.
In August 2022, 466,849 visitors arrived from the U.S. West, an increase of 11 percent compared to 420,750 visitors in August 2019. U.S. West visitors spent $864.7 million in August 2022, up 49.3 percent from $579.3 million in August 2019. Daily spending by U.S. West visitors in August 2022 ($224 per person) was much higher compared to August 2019 ($167 per person, +34%).
There were 217,214 visitors from the U.S. East in August 2022, an 8.8 percent growth compared to the 199,659 visitors in August 2019. U.S. East visitors spent $507.3 million in August 2022, up 33.8 percent from $379.1 million in August 2019. Daily spending by U.S. East visitors in August 2022 ($243 per person) increased significantly in comparison to August 2019 ($206 per person, +18.2%).
There were 28,384 visitors from Japan in August 2022 compared to 160,728 visitors (-82.3%) in August 2019. Visitors from Japan spent $53 million in August 2022 compared to $236.9 million (-77.6%) in August 2019. Daily spending by Japanese visitors in August 2022 ($227 per person) was flat compared to August 2019 ($228 per person, -0.7%).
In August 2022, 27,472 visitors arrived from Canada compared to 28,672 visitors (-4.2%) in August 2019. Visitors from Canada spent $61.4 million in August 2022, compared to $57.2 million (+7.3%) in August 2019. Daily spending by Canadian visitors in August 2022 ($194 per person) increased compared to August 2019 ($178 per person, +9%).
In August 2022, there were 89,779 visitors from All Other International Markets, which included visitors from Oceania, Other Asia, Europe, Latin America, Guam, Philippines and the Pacific Islands. In comparison, there were 116,608 visitors (-23%) from All Other International Markets in August 2019.
In August 2022, a total of 5,350 trans-Pacific flights with 1,142,106 seats serviced the Hawaiian Islands, compared to 5,469 flights (-2.2%) with 1,212,926 seats (-5.8%) in August 2019.
Through the first eight months of 2022, total visitor spending was $12.87 billion, up 6.8 percent from $12.06 billion in the first eight months of 2019. A total of 6,180,185 visitors arrived in the first eight months of 2022 which was a decrease compared to the first eight months of 2019 at 7,092,809 visitors (-12.9%).
Statement by DBEDT Director Mike McCartney:
Due to strong airlift, we are continuing to see recovery in the visitor industry with U.S. travelers leading the way on visits and spending. The Japanese government reopened their country so we will see the return of the Japanese visitors beginning in October.
The per person per trip spending is up $461 more than 2019 with the daily visitor count up by 20,626 visitors from the U.S. mainland between 2019 and 2022. Although international travel is down from 2019, which has affected O‘ahu the most, we will begin to see a positive upward movement at the second half of 2022.
Hawai‘i is on pace to a full recovery in 2025 with the return of international visitors. We will have to compete for the type of visitors we want as pent-up demand moderates and travel patterns settle in. While improving our destination and monitoring global events, we must be flexible and adjust our plans so that we can compete with other destinations as the world opens for travelers.
DBEDT has a projection of 9.2 million visitors for the entire 2022, that represents an 88.5 precent recovery from 2019, generates $2.2 billion in state tax revenue and supports 195,000 jobs. We are confident in the return of a managed visitor industry in 2025 that balances the needs of the community and businesses.
Statement by HTA President and CEO John De Fries:
The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority is focused on visitor spending, as tourism dollars are recirculated in our economy, supporting local businesses, retailers, restaurants and attractions throughout the state. Our steadfast efforts also remain on visitor education and destination management, to preserve our natural and cultural resources for future generations.