Hawai‘i arrivals decrease in June; Big Island numbers follow suit, but spending increases

While Hawai‘i’s visitor industry continued to recover in June from COVID pandemic losses, arrival numbers and traveler spending for the month decreased compared with last year. On Hawai‘i Island, however, last month was a tale of fewer visitors but improved visitor spending.

Preliminary statistics from the Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism show that the Big Island welcomed 156,999 visitors last month which is 1.1% less than the 158,739 during June in 2023 and 4% less than the 163,564 in 2019 in June 2019.

Spending by visitors on Hawai‘i Island totaled $283.3 million in June this year, 7.5% more than the $263.4 million in June last year and a huge 37.6% increase from the $205.8 million visitors spent in June 5 years ago.

There were an average of 40,248 visitors on the Big Island per day in June this year, which was 1.5% less than the 40,845 average per day last June and actually 5% more than the 38,338 daily average during the same month in 2019.

Throughout the first half of this year, 866,173 visitors came to Hawai‘i Island. That’s 1.6% less than the 880,486 who came to the island’s shores during the first half of last year and 1.6% less than the 880,361 who arrived on the island from January through the end of June in 2019.

Visitors spent a total of $1.63 billion on the Big Island during the first half of this year. That’s 13.7% more than the $1.43 billion spent by travelers during the same time period last year and a huge 41.2% more than the $1.16 billion visitors spent during the first half of 2019.

Statewide, 872,620 visitors arrived in the islands in June, a 1.9% from the 889,274 that came to the state in June 2023. Those visitors spent $1.91 billion while they were here, or 4.4% less than the $200 billion from last June.

“Overall travel to the Hawaiian Islands was soft for June,” said James Kunane Tokioka, director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

All of this June’s visitors came by air and were mainly from the western and eastern U.S. mainland. No out-of-state cruise ships visited Hawai‘i last month.

Of the visitors who arrived last year in June, 886,038 came by air and 3,236 visitors came via one cruise ship.

This year’s total June arrivals were still 92.1% of the 947,112 arrivals in June 2019. Total visitor spending this June, however, was an impressive 17.3% more than the $1.63 billion in June 2019.

A total of 4,780,927 visitors arrived in the island during the first half of 2024, which is a decrease of 3.7% from 4,964,711 in the first half of last year. Total arrivals were 7.5% less than the 5,171,182 visitors in the first half of 2019.

Visitors spent at total of $10.26 billion in the state by the end of June, a decrease from the $10.78 billion, or 4.8%, from the first half of last year. That was 15.9% more, however, than the $8.86 billion visitors spent throughout the first half of 2019 in the state.

The average length of stay by all visitors in June of this year was pretty much the same as last year, 8.97 days in 2024 compared to 9.07 in 2023, with the statewide average daily census at 260,965 visitors in June 2024, a 2.9% decrease from the 268,857 last June and 6.1% slump from 277,930 visitors in June 2019.

Fewer people came to the islands this June from the U.S. West by 1.7%, with arrivals from the region totaling 479,039 for the month compared to 487,370 for last June. That was a 5.8% increase from June 2019, however, when 452,958 graced the state with their presence.

U.S. West visitor spending of $984.2 million in June decreased 2.3% compared to the $1.01 billion spent by visitors in June last year, but was much higher than the $691.2 million in June 2019.

Visitors from the western U.S. mainland spent an average of $236 per person last month, the same as last June and considerably more, 38% more, than the $171 visitors spent per person in June 2019.

Arrivals from the eastern part of the mainland totaled 231,186 last month, a 6.5% decrease from the 247,299 visitors who showed up in June 2023 and a 3.8% decrease from the 240,223 who arrived in June 5 years ago. U.S.

The spending picture for visitors from the U.S. East painted a similar picture as their western counterparts, with dollars being pumped into the Hawai‘i economy decreasing this June by 6.1% to $631.7 million from $672.6 million last year, but this year’s June visitor spending 28.6$ more than the $491.1 million spent by travelers in the same month in 2019.

Daily spending by visitors from the eastern mainland last month was an average of $275 per person, unchanged from last June, but significantly more than the $210 per person, a $30.8 spike from June 2019.

A total of 4,392 nonstop domestic flights with 936,654 seats flew into Hawai‘i in June this year from the U.S. mainland, decreasing from 4,450 and 941,829, or 1.3% and 0.5%, respectively. This year’s numbers increased, however, by 1.2% and 3.7% from 4,340 flights and 903,624 seats, respectively, from June 2019.

International flights were a bright spot for the islands comparing June during the past 2 years.

There were 715 nonstop flights with 198,918 seats to Hawai‘i from countries such as Japan, Canada, Korea, Oceania, Guam, Manila and Pacific islands. That is an increase of 9.8% from the 651 flights and 15.2% from the 172,655 seats going to international visitors in June 2023.

But numbers continue to be significantly decreased compared with pre-pandemic international levels. This June’s international air capacity was 32.5% less than the 1,059 flights and 28.6% less than the 278,652 seats in June 5 years ago.

The Japanese market continues to very slowly recover pre-pandemic numbers.

There were 59,874 visitors from Japan who arrived in the islands last month. That’s 52.7% less than the 126,592 travelers from the island nation who came to Hawai‘i in June 5 years ago. On the brighter side, last month’s total was a significant 28.1% more than the 46,753 Japanese visitors who arrived in June last year.

When it comes to spending, it was the same story. Japanese visitors spent $87.3 million in June this year, which is 52% less than the $182 million visitors from that nation spent in June 2019 but 25.8% more than the $69.4 million travelers from Japan spent here last June.

Daily spending by Japanese visitors averaged out to be $237 per person in June this year, which is 0.4% less than the $238 from last June and 4.6% less than the average of $248 per person in June 2019.

Visitation numbers from Canada also are not looking too hot at the moment.

There were 16,380 visitors who arrived from Canada in June, a decrease of 14.9% from the 19,237 who came last June and 14.6% less than the 19,172 Canadian travelers who arrived in June 2019. Visitors from Canada spent $34.7 million last month, which is 22.4% less than the $44.7 million in June 2023 and a 3.9% decrease from the $36.1 million arrivals from Canada spent here 5 years ago in June.

Daily spending by Canadian visitors averaged out to be $213 per person in June this year. That was 5.4% less than the $226 per person average from June a year ago, but a considerable 33.5% hike from the $160 in June 2019.

Visitors from other international markets such as Oceania, Europe, Latin America, Guam, the Philippines, other Pacific islands, other Asian countries and other nations accounted for a total of 86,141 arrivals last month.

That included the more than 2,000 delegates and dignitaries from 26 Pacific nations who came to participate in the 13th annual Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture. The festival — the world’s largest celebration of indigenous Pacific Islanders — was hosted June 6-16 at various venues on O’ahu. This year’s theme was “Ho‘oulu Lāhui: Regenerating Oceania.”

This June’s visitor arrivals from all other international markets were 0.9% more than the 85,379 in June a year ago and, unfortunately, 19.8% less than the 107,428 in June 5 years ago.

As for air capacity from other international markets, the 5,107 trans-Pacific flights to the Hawaiian Islands in June was a slight 0.1% more than the 5,101 that arrived last June in the state but 5.4% less than the 5,399 that made their way here in June 2019.

There were 1,135,484 airplane seats filled coming to Hawai‘i in June this year. That’s a 1.9% increase from the 1,114,484 seats in June last year and a 4% decrease from the 1,182,276 seats filled coming from other international markets 5 years ago in June.

For even more information about visitor numbers and spending, click here.