Severe weather washes away more than quarter of million dollars in state tourism revenue

Back-to-back kona low storms from March 10-24 dampened the state’s economy while they wreaked havoc on the islands themselves, washing away more than $300 million in tourism revenue during Spring Break season.

Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism reports a total of 888,349 visitors arrived in the islands last month, a 1.7% dip compared with the 903,891 who visited in March 2025. Visitor spending also decreased from last year, totaling $1.96 billion statewide, or 1.6% less than the same month in 2025.

Visitor numbers on the Big Island followed the same downward trend in March.

The severe weather caused extensive flooding and damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure, with impacts felt most heavily in parts of the North Shore of O‘ahu and West Maui, Moloka‘i and Hawai‘i Island.

Visitors who arrived by air service to Hawai‘i during the storms were affected by flight delays and cancelations.

Many who came by out-of-state cruise ships could not visit all scheduled ports on the itineraries. Most national and state parks along with other popular visitor attractions were also closed because of the storms.

Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism Director James Kunane Tokioka said the state is committed to encouraging respectful travel, supporting local businesses and promoting volunteer opportunities to mālama Hawai‘i as recovery efforts continue.

“I am currently working with the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority to secure funding for a tourism recovery campaign designed to address the economic impacts of these storms,” said Tokioka. “This effort aims to restore visitor traffic in a way that sustains local businesses, protects local jobs and uplifts communities across the islands.”

A total of 154,982 visitors arrived on Big Island shores last month, a 2.7% decrease from the 159,312 in March 2025. They stayed on the island an average of 8.26 days in March, which was a 6.5% decrease from the 8.83 days average from a year ago during the same month.

Interestingly, the average party size of visitors coming to the island together in March increased this year to 2.3, which is 12.8% higher than 2 during the same month a year prior. The average age of the visitor leading the party was 53 years old last month, which is a 6.9% increase from 50 years old in March 2025.

There were 869,063 visitors in March statewide who arrived by air service, mainly from the U.S. West and U.S. East markets. The number is 2.4% less than the 890,010 in March 2025 who flew to the islands.

A total of 5,562 trans-Pacific flights with 1,247,294 seats were booked last month to the islands, another rainbow in the storm as flights increased by 1.4% from the 5,486 and seats spiked 4.9% from 1,189,430 from the previous March.

Additionally, 19,286 visitors arrived last month via out-of-state cruise ships, which was a bright spot through the storm clouds as it was a hefty increase of 38.9% from the 13,882 who cruised through the state in March 2025.

The average length of stay in March by all visitors was 8.14 days, only slightly fewer than the 8.43 days in March 2025. The statewide average daily census last month was 5.1% less than March 2025 at 233,203 visitors compared with 245,813 the same month last year.

The number of visitors arriving In March from the U.S. West decreased by 7.4% to 424,581 compared with 458,570 visitors during the same month in 2025. There were 271,291 visitors from the U.S. East who visited the islands in March, which was another silver lining for the tourism industry as it was a 13.9% increase from the 238,163 in March of last year.

Visitors from the U.S. West spent a total of $882.1 million last month, spending an average of $270 per person and staying for an average 7.71 days. Statistics were somewhat mixed compared with March 2025, when visitors from the region spent more at a total of $931.1 million, with a lower average of $252 spent per person daily and a higher average length of stay at 8.07 days.

Total spending by visitors from the U.S. East in March was $696.8 million, spending a daily average of $296 per person with an average stay of 8.69 days. All of those figures decreased compared with March 2025, as U.S. East visitors recorded $619.9 million in total spending, average daily spening of $289 per person and an average length of stay at 9.01 days.

Because spring break dates can vary throughout the United States, many U.S. East visitors were fortunate to arrive in early March for their break, before the kona low storms.

Internationally, visitors from Japan topped the list with a total of 67,014 visitors arrived in March, an 8.8% increase from the total 61,605 in March 2025, spending a total of $91.9 million and an average daily spending amount of $248 per person.

Canadian visitation, on the other hand, ended up in the negative last month.

There were a total of 47,490 visitors in March to the islands from Canada, an 11.4% decrease from the 53,621 in March 2025. Those visitors spent a total of $128.2 million, with an average daily spending amount of $218 per person.

Visitors from all other international markets, including Oceania, other Asia countries, Europe, Latin America, Guam, the Philippines, the Pacific Islands and other nations, totaled 58,687, which was a whopping 24.8% less than the 78,052 visitors who arrived in the islands during the same month in 2025 from the same locations.