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Visitor arrivals up 7.2% in September

Expenditures during the month, however, are off 3%

By Allison Schaefers

POSTED: 10:00 a.m. HST, Oct 27, 2009

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An increase in tourists from the U.S. West for the fifth consecutive month, the timing of the Labor Day and Silver Week holidays, and convention traffic helped boost Hawaii's total September visitor arrivals.

However, spending still fell from the prior year.

Visitor arrivals rose 7.2 percent in September to 494,376, according to preliminary statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. While it was good news for Hawaii's visitor industry, the gain is somewhat deceptive because the growth in arrivals is being measured against September 2008, which saw a 19.5 percent decline in visitors.

In addition, total expenditures by visitors in the month of September 2009 were $737.1 million, a drop of $22.7 million, or 3 percent, compared with a year earlier.

While the HTA is concerned about the decline in total visitor expenditures, the agency was not surprised by the data, said Mike McCartney, HTA president and chief executive officer.

"During challenging economic times, visitor destinations throughout the world are fighting for market share," McCartney said. "In an effort to remain competitive in the short term, Hawaii's visitor industry was forced to re-evaluate and reposition its product offerings, which often resulted in the reduction of rates."

Increased traffic from core marketing targets such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle helped grow U.S. West arrivals by 10.1 percent, he said.

Likewise, aggressive marketing efforts in Japan and the timing of Silver Week -- consecutive national holidays -- boosted arrivals in that market by 16.7 percent to 110,634, McCartney said. U.S. East arrivals grew 6.9 percent and conventions, such as the American Dental Association's meeting, helped increase business travel by 140.6 percent over September 2008, he said.

While visitor arrivals from Canada were flat, cruise traffic fell 11.2 percent and all other markets fell 9.5 percent.

An increase in tourists from the U.S. West for the fifth consecutive month, the timing of the Labor Day and Silver Week holidays, and convention traffic helped boost Hawaii's total September visitor arrivals.


However, spending still fell from the prior year.

Visitor arrivals rose 7.2 percent in September to 494,376, according to preliminary statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. While it was good news for Hawaii's visitor industry, the gain is somewhat deceptive because the growth in arrivals is being measured against September 2008, which saw a 19.5 percent decline in visitors.

In addition, total expenditures by visitors in the month of September 2009 were $737.1 million, a drop of $22.7 million, or 3 percent, compared with a year earlier.

While the HTA is concerned about the decline in total visitor expenditures, the agency was not surprised by the data, said Mike McCartney, HTA president and chief executive officer.

"During challenging economic times, visitor destinations throughout the world are fighting for market share," McCartney said. "In an effort to remain competitive in the short term, Hawaii's visitor industry was forced to re-evaluate and reposition its product offerings, which often resulted in the reduction of rates."

Increased traffic from core marketing targets such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle helped grow U.S. West arrivals by 10.1 percent, he said.

Likewise, aggressive marketing efforts in Japan and the timing of Silver Week -- consecutive national holidays -- boosted arrivals in that market by 16.7 percent to 110,634, McCartney said. U.S. East arrivals grew 6.9 percent and conventions, such as the American Dental Association's meeting, helped increase business travel by 140.6 percent over September 2008, he said.

While visitor arrivals from Canada were flat, cruise traffic fell 11.2 percent and all other markets fell 9.5 percent.

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