MEDIA RELEASE
Total expenditures by visitors who came to Hawaii in January 2012 rose 13.9 percent (or $164.1 million) from January 2011, to $1.345 billion, according to preliminary statistics released Friday by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
This was the best one-month total on record, surpassing the December 2011 high of $1.298 billion.
Contributing to the strong increase in January 2012 was higher daily spending ($192 per person, up from $183 per person in January 2011) and a respectable 7.7 percent growth in total arrivals to 643,616 visitors.
Total arrivals by air grew 7.4 percent from January 2011 to 629,852 visitors with increases from U.S. West (+3.3%), U.S. East (+4.1%), Japan (+3.9%) and Canada (+9%).
On a typical day in January 2012 there were 223,452 visitors (average daily census). The last time this rate was exceeded was in July 2005.
Arrivals by cruise ships rose 22.7 percent to 13,764 visitors.
Continuing the momentum of consecutive increases since January 2011, total spending by Canadian visitors in January 2012 rose 22.3 percent to $165.2 million.
Total expenditures by U.S. West visitors grew 2.6 percent to $364.1 million, despite lower daily spending compared to January 2011 (-2.3% to $146.4 per person).
Similarly, U.S. East visitors’ total expenditures rose 1.5 percent to $346.7 million, while daily spending decreased (-1.5% to $183 per person).
Growth in arrivals, additional charter air service and significantly higher daily spending (+18% to $340 per person) contributed to a 22.9 percent jump in total Japanese visitor expenditures to $218.5 million in January 2012.
This was the eighth consecutive month of increases since June 2011.
Statement from Mike McCartney, HTA president and CEO:
The momentum of 2011 continued into January 2012 for a strong start to the New Year. Visitor spending for January 2012 reached $1.35 billion, up 13.9 percent over January 2011, making it the highest January on record for expenditures.
The gains in expenditures were seen across the major islands and in each of our major market areas, contributing $164 million more into our state’s economy, boosting arrivals 7.7 percent, while distributing the benefits of tourism across the state.
A strong holiday season, combined with pent up demand for travel to the Hawaiian Islands, increases in airlift and a large delegation of convention attendees were all contributing factors to the increases seen in January.
Kauai lead the way in visitor arrival increases for January, up 10 percent over 2011, thanks to increased direct service and a charter flight from China.
The HTA is proud of the hard work and dedication of our visitor industry, demonstrated by the strong performance in January, which is a good indicator for the year to come.
We will continue to work with our global marketing partners to drive demand, help sustain healthy airlift and support unique experiences throughout the Hawaiian Islands for both residents and visitors.
For a complete breakdown of the numbers, click on the PDF button below:
January 2012 Visitor Stats— Find out more:
www.hawaiitourismauthority.org
It isn’t really addressed in the statistics, but how much of the increase in spending is due to the increase in prices?
Gas, Hotel, Food, etc., have been increasing every month state wide.