Categorized | Business

Visitor expenditures down 4.8% in September

MEDIA RELEASE

Visitors who came to Hawaii in September 2013 spent a total of $1 billion, down 4.8 percent from last September, according to preliminary statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Total arrivals, which have shown growth since September 2011, lowered by 1 percent to 594,181 visitors. The average daily visitor spending declined (-3.6% to $199 per person) compared to September 2012.

For the first nine months of 2013, total visitor expenditures increased 4.1 percent to $11 billion and total arrivals rose 4.5 percent to 6,256,793 visitors.

Arrivals by air from U.S. West fell 5.9 percent to 216,958 visitors in September 2013 while visitor days decreased 4.3 percent. Total U.S. West visitor expenditures dropped 5.5 percent to $322.6 million. For the U.S. East market, arrivals were virtually unchanged from last September at 109,794 visitors and total U.S. East visitor expenditures was $240.4 million, comparable to September 2012.

Japanese arrivals rose 2 percent to 136,052 visitors in September 2013. However, lower daily spending (-11% to $266 per person) and a shorter length of stay resulted in a 14.8 percent decrease in total Japanese visitor expenditures to $214.9 million.

Total Canadian visitor expenditures grew 5.9 percent to $39.3 million, boosted by increased daily spending and stable arrivals (19,188 visitors).

Arrivals from All Other markets were up 4.8 percent to 100,282 visitors and combined total expenditures from All Other visitors rose 2.9 percent to $223.4 million. There was growth in arrivals from Oceania (+14.2%) and Other Asia (+13.2%) compared to September 2012.

In September 2013, 11,907 visitors came by cruise ships, up 3.2 percent.

Among the larger Hawaiian Islands, total visitor expenditures in September 2013 declined on Oahu (-10.5%) and Maui (-5.2%), but rose on Kauai (+16.3 %) and Hawaii Island (+13.3%).

There were 817,914 total air seats to Hawaii in September 2013, similar to a year ago. Growth in scheduled seats from Oceania (+49.2%), Other Asia (+10.1%) and Japan (+9.3%) offset declines from U.S. West (-5.6%) and U.S. East (-6.8%).

Year-to-Date 2013

Total expenditures by U.S. West (+7.3% to $3.6 billion), U.S. East (+6.7% to $2.8 billion) and Canadian (+1.7% to $746.9 million) visitors increased, but total spending by Japanese visitors declined (-8.4% to $1.9 billion). Arrivals from U.S. West (+4.5%), U.S. East (+1.6%), Japan (+3.3%) and Canada (+2.9%) showed moderate growth, while arrivals from Oceania (+30.2%), Other Asia (+23.8%), Europe (+10.7%) and Latin America (+23.8%) rose by double-digits.

Maui (+5.2% to $2.7 billion; +3.6% to 1,800,186 visitors), Hawaii Island (+17.1% to $1.4 billion; +4.4% to 1,118,637 visitors) and Kauai (+15.2% to $1.1 billion; +4.3% to 855,047 visitors) showed growth in total visitor expenditures and arrivals compared to the first nine months of 2012.

Total visitor spending on Oahu decreased (-1.1% to $5.6 billion) despite growth in arrivals (+5.8% to 3,882,600 visitors), which was offset by lower daily spending and shorter length of stay.

Other Highlights:

* Visitors usually travel on weekends and there were only four weekends in September 2013 compared to five weekends in 2012. The lack of an extra weekend in September resulted in one less tour from the Hawaii home-ported cruise ship, a loss of 1,916 visitors, compared to September 2012.

A Labor Day weekend early in the month may have also shifted some arrivals to August this year.

* The decline in U.S. West arrivals in September 2013 (-5.9%) paralleled the decrease in scheduled air seats from U.S. West (-5.6%) compared to last September.

There were fewer visitors from the Pacific Region states: California (-7.5%), Washington (-5%), Oregon (-2.9%) and Mountain region states: Arizona (-6.8%), Colorado (-6.8%) and Nevada (-9.9%) compared to September 2012. The first nine months of 2013 saw more arrivals from the Pacific (+3.1%) and Mountain (+6.6%) regions compared to year-to-date 2012.

* Arrivals from U.S. East were similar to September 2012. Growth in arrivals from the East South Central (+6.4%) and South Atlantic (+2.2%) regions offset decreases from the mid-Atlantic (-4%), West South Central (-4%) and East North Central (-1.8%) regions.

For the first nine months of 2013, arrivals increased from the mid-Atlantic (+8.9%), New England (+5.8%) and South Atlantic (+1.1%) regions, but declined from the West South Central (-2.9%), East South Central (-2.3%) and East North Central (-1.1%) regions.

* The total number of visitors who came for meetings, conventions and incentives (MCI) climbed 28.8 percent to 27,474 visitors compared to September 2012. Convention visitors jumped 51.5 percent with a doubling of U.S. East visitors (to 5,457 from 2,772) and a 15.1 percent growth from U.S. West (to 4,653).

The National Guard Association of the United States 2013 Annual Meeting contributed to this increase.

More visitors also came for corporate meetings (+20.8%) compared to September 2012. In addition, incentives visitors rose 6.7 percent, with especially strong growth from Japan (4,201 from 898 visitors in September 2012).

For the first nine months of 2013, total MCI visitors increased 14.6 percent, as growth in incentive (+54.5%) and convention (+3.7%) visitors compensated for fewer corporate meeting (-6.5%) visitors.

* Daily spending by Japanese visitors has been lower in eight out of nine months in 2013 compared to 2012, largely due to a weaker yen. For the first nine months of 2013, daily spending on shopping by Japanese visitors declined 19.3 percent (to $77 per person). Spending on lodging (-5% to $104), entertainment and recreation (-6.7% to $19) were also down compared to year-to-date 2012.

* Fewer Japanese visitors came to honeymoon (-14% to 16,403) compared to September 2012, the third consecutive month of double-digit declines. For year-to-date 2013, there were a total of 160,737 honeymooners from Japan, a decrease of 5.6 percent.

* The number of Japanese who visited Hawaii Island exclusively has shown positive growth in eight out of nine months of 2013. For September 2013, there was a 38.4 percent growth in visitor arrivals exclusively to Hawaii Island (to 5,167) contributing to an 18.8 percent increase (to 33,160) year-to-date.

* Among U.S. East visitors, condominium usage (+7.2%) increased through fewer stayed in timeshare (-5.7%) compared to September 2012. More Canadian visitors also stayed in condominium properties (+9.8%), while hotel (-7.9%) and timeshare (-10.5%) usage were down.

Island Highlights for September 2013

While there were fewer total visitors to the state in September 2013, arrivals by island fared better, as more visitors went to multiple islands (+5.5%) compared to September 2012.

* Oahu: Total arrivals to Oahu were comparable to September 2012 at 388,800 visitors. However, lower daily spending (-5.6% to $219 per person) and a shorter length of stay (-5.3% to 6.57 days) resulted in a 10.5 percent decline in total visitor expenditures to $560.2 million. There were more visitors to Oahu from U.S. East (+1.2%), Canada (+6.5%), Korea (+11%), Australia (+7.9%), Europe (+9.4%) and Latin America (+35.1%), but fewer visitors from U.S. West (-7.9%) and China (-5.9%) compared to last September.

* Maui: Arrivals to Maui (163,533 visitors) in September 2013 were similar to a year ago, but decreased daily spending (-8.7% to $183 per person) led to a 5.2 percent drop in total visitor expenditures to $227.4 million. There were more visitors from Japan (+24.3%), Australia (+40%) and Taiwan but fewer from U.S. West (-3.5%), and Canada (-3.7%).

* Hawaii Island: Arrivals to Hawaii Island rose 4.9 percent to 101,009 visitors in September 2013. Higher daily spending (+7.6% to $188 per person) contributed to a 13.3 percent growth in total visitor expenditures to $137.4 million. There were fewer visitors to Hawaii Island from U.S. West (-3.2%) and Japan (-1.1%), but more visitors from U.S. East (+1.9%) and Canada (+1.3%).

* Kauai: A total of 83,980 visitors went to Kauai in September 2013, virtually unchanged from last September. Much higher daily spending (+14.5% to $177 per person) and a longer length of stay (+1.3% to 7.19 days) bolstered total visitor expenditures on Kauai to $106.6 million (+16.3%). Growth in arrivals from Japan (+29.3%) and Australia (+56.3%) offset fewer visitors from U.S. West (-7%), U.S. East (-1.4%) and Canada (-8.5%).

Air Seats to Hawaii

* There were a total of 817,914 air seats to the state in September 2013, similar to a year ago. Total air seats increased for Honolulu (+2.1% to 619,056), but declined for Kahului (-3% to 118,929), Lihue (-11.3% to 40,163), Kona (-15.3% to 36,532) and Hilo (-10.4% to 3,234).

* The number of scheduled air seats were comparable to last September at 811,158 seats. Domestic charter seats rose 5.9 percent to 4,968 seats. However, international charter seats declined 34.8 percent as a result of fewer charters from Japan. In addition, there was one charter from China in September 2012 that did not fly in September 2013.

* Scheduled air seats from U.S. West decreased 5.6 percent compared to September 2012. Increased service from Anchorage, Bellingham, Denver, Portland and San Francisco, were offset by discontinued service from Fresno; and reduced service from Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland, Phoenix, Sacramento, Salt Lake City and San Jose.

* Seats from U.S. East fell 6.8 percent compared to September 2012. Fewer seats out of Washington D.C., New York JFK and Dallas were partially offset by increased service from Chicago, Houston and Newark.

* Scheduled seats out of Japan rose 9.3 percent, boosted by recently started service from Sapporo, and increased service from Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka and Narita.

* Scheduled seats out of Canada in September 2013 declined slightly by 1 percent due to fewer seats from Vancouver compared to last September.

* Oceania air seats climbed 49.2 percent, boosted by a doubling of seats from Auckland. In addition, routes from Brisbane and Melbourne, which started at the end of 2012, and increased service from Sydney contributed to the growth in air seats from Australia.

* Scheduled seats from Other Asia grew 10.1 percent from September 2012. Air seat capacity out of Shanghai increased 70.4 percent (to 3,696) with the addition of one weekly flight by China Eastern Airlines from January 2013. In contrast, reduced service by Korean Airlines caused a decline in seats from Seoul (-12.6% to 30,413). There were 6,585 seats out of Taiwan in September 2013.

* For the first nine months of 2013, total air seats grew 6.9 percent, with increased seats to Honolulu (+8.4%), Kahului (+5.4%) and Lihue (+4.7%) offsetting fewer seats from Hilo (-20.1%) and Kona (-1.5%). There were significantly more scheduled seats from U.S. East (+12.9%), Other Asia (+21.8%) and Oceania (+48.6%) compared to the first nine months of 2012. Scheduled seats from U.S. West (+3.8%) and Japan (+7.2%) also increased, while the number of seats from Canada were about the same as year-to-date 2012.

Cruise Ship Visitors

* A total of 20,795 visitors came by cruise ship or by air to board cruise ships in September 2013, down 6.9 percent. The average length of stay by all cruise visitors was also lower compared to last September (7.92 days from 8.88 days) and contributed to a 17 percent drop in total cruise visitor days.

* Fewer visitors came by air to board cruise ships (-17.7%) in September 2013, but this was mainly due to the timing of the month. Five Saturdays in September 2012 allowed for five tours of the Hawaii home-ported cruise ship compared to four tours in September 2013.

* In September 2013, 11,907 visitors came by cruise ships, up 3.2 percent from a year age.

* For the first nine months of 2013, a total of 203,125 visitors came by cruise ship or by air to board cruise ships, an increase of 3.8 percent from the same period last year. The Hawaii home-ported cruise ship was in dry dock in April 2013 for routine maintenance and contributed to the 4.7 percent decline in cruise visitors who came by air through September 2013.

Visitor Arrivals by Air from All Other Markets

Arrivals by air from the smaller, developing markets grew 4.8 percent to 100,282 visitors in September 2013 and comprised 17.2 percent of total air visitors to Hawaii. For the first nine months of 2013, a total of 846,633 visitors arrived from developing markets, up 10.7 percent from year-to-date 2012.

* Oceania MMA: Arrivals from Oceania increased 14.2 percent while visitor days grew 13.1 percent compared to September 2012. Arrivals from Australia rose 8.3 percent to 31,124 visitors.

A longer length of stay (9.77 days, from 9.42 days) also contributed to a 12.4 percent growth in Australian visitor days. Arrivals from New Zealand surged 70.3 percent to 5,123 visitors in September 2013. However, their average length of stay was shorter (8.91 days) compared to those who came in September 2012 (12.83 days). Visitor days for New Zealand increased 18.2 percent.

For the first nine months of 2013, arrivals from Australia and New Zealand showed very strong growth, 25.5 percent and 73.8 percent, respectively.

* Other Asia MMA: Arrivals (+12.1% to 13,502 visitors) and visitor days (+21.7%) from Korea were much higher compared to September 2012. Korean visitors in September 2013 stayed an average of 7.09 days, compared to 6.53 days a year ago.

Arrivals from China fell 10 percent to 10,914 visitors in September 2013. A shift in the Chinese National Holiday and timing of the Mid-Autumn Festival (September in 2012 versus October in 2013) may have contributed to the decrease. However, a longer length of stay (5.97 days, from 5.23 days) led to a 2.7 percent growth in visitor days.

Supported by new service from China Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, there were seven times more visitors from Taiwan in September 2013 compared to a year ago. Year-to-date, 2013 showed significantly more visitors from Korea (+22.1%), China (+15.9%) and Taiwan (+181.6%) compared to the same period last year.

* Europe MMA: Total arrivals from the Europe MMA (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland) increased 6.1 percent in September 2013 to 15,216 visitors, with more visitors from Germany (+10.1% to 4,972), France (+8.6 to 1,706), Italy (+10.7% to 1,370) and Switzerland (+12.3% to 1,646) compared to September 2012.

For the first nine months of 2013, arrivals from this MMA rose 10.7 percent to 108,029 visitors. Arrivals from the United Kingdom increased 8.1 percent to 38,420, while arrivals from Germany rose 12.6 percent to 32,970.

* Latin America MMA: Arrivals from Latin America rose 24.3 percent in September to 2,114 visitors. For the first nine months of 2013, a total of 23,095 visitors came from this market, up 23.8 percent compared to the same period last year. More visitors came from Brazil (+22.4% to 11,105), Mexico (+17.8% to 7,564) and Argentina (+40% to 4,427) compared to the first nine months of 2012.

Statement from Mike McCartney, HTA President and CEO

Total visitor expenditures reached $11 billion (+4%) and total visitor arrivals surpassed 6 million (+4.5%) during the first three quarters of the year and continue to pace ahead of 2012, despite the dip in arrivals and spending in the month of September.

Year-to-date through September 2013, Hawaii’s tourism economy has contributed $1.15 billion in state tax revenue, $45 million more than same time last year.

Hawaii Island led the state in growth for visitor expenditures (+17.1% to $1.4 billion) and per person per day spending (+12.5% to $179) for the first nine months of 2013. A solid increase in visitors from U.S. East (+3.5 to 303,706) and Japan (5.4% to 157,413) offset the minimal growth from U.S. West (0.8% to 428,575) and a decrease in Canadian visitors (-1.4% to 69,451) year-to-date.

Year-to-date results reflect our ongoing efforts to create a more sustainable tourism economy through diversification. With an additional $2 million in legislative funding for international marketing, the HTA has been able to nurture developing global markets, which are collectively up nearly 10 percent in visitor arrivals and spending.

Furthermore, despite a decline in total Japanese outbound travel, arrivals to Hawaii out of this market have remained stable due to an increase in seat inventory and new routes from Japan to the Hawaiian Islands.

In attracting visitors from new markets, the ratio of first-timers, who tend to spend more, has also increased in September (+38.5%), in comparison to the year-to-date average of 35 percent.

The HTA also continues to focus on marketing unique visitor experiences on each of the Hawaiian Islands to enhance distribution across the state. As a result, visitor arrivals and expenditures on all neighbor islands have continued to increase through September 2013.

We will continue to monitor the effects of the federal government shutdown and delicate global economy to ensure the sustainability and success of our tourism industry.

— Find out more:
www.hawaiitourismauthority.org

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