According to statistics released by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, visitors to the Hawaiian Islands spent nearly $18 billion in 2019. Here at oceanfront Hono Koa Resort in beautiful West Maui, we sincerely thank you for your visit last year and your portion of the $17.75 billion contribution to the Hawaii economy, an increase of 1.4 percent compared to 2018. That spending includes lodging, inter-island airfare, shopping, food, car rental and other expenses while in Hawaii.
Spending by visitors generated $2.07 billion in vital state tax revenue in 2019, an increase of $28.5 million (+1.4%) from 2018. Additionally, 216,000 jobs statewide were supported by Hawaii’s tourism industry in 2019.
Tourism dollars from the Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT), which visitors pay when they stay in legal accommodations, helped to fund more than a hundred nonprofits, festivals and events statewide in 2019. They include the Merrie Monarch Festival, Aloha Festivals, the Hawaii Food and Wine Festival, the Okinawan Festival, the Kauai Chocolate and Coffee Festival, the Nature Conservancy, and the Maui Arts and Cultural Center.
In 2019, visitor spending increased from the U.S. West (+5.9% to $6.98 billion), U.S. East (+3.6% to $4.69 billion) and Japan (+2.0% to $2.19 billion), but declined from Canada (-3.2% to $1.07 billion) and All Other International Markets (-10.4% to $2.77 billion) compared to 2018.
On a statewide level, average daily spending by visitors in 2019 decreased to $195 per person
(-1.5%). Visitors from U.S. East (+1.7% to $214) and Canada (+0.6% to $165) spent more per day, while visitors from Japan (-0.6% to $240), U.S. West (-0.5% to $175) and All Other International Markets (-8.5% to $217) spent less compared to 2018.
A total of 10,424,995 visitors came to Hawaii in 2019, an increase of 5.4 percent from the 9,888,845 visitors in 2018. Total visitor days rose 3.0 percent in 2019. On average, there were 249,021 visitors in the Hawaiian Islands on any given day in 2019, up 3.0 percent from 2018.
Arrivals by air service increased to 10,282,160 visitors (+5.3%) in 2019, with growth from U.S. West (+9.8%), U.S. East (+4.2%) and Japan (+3.8%) offsetting decreases from Canada (-2.4%) and All Other International Markets (-1.8%). Arrivals by cruise ships rose 12.1 percent to 142,836 visitors compared to 2018.
In 2019, Oahu recorded increases in visitor spending (+2.8% to $8.19 billion) and visitor arrivals (+5.6% to 6,193,027), but daily spending declined (-1.6%) compared to 2018. Here on Maui, spending on also increased (+2.4% to $5.12 billion) as growth in visitor arrivals (+5.4% to 3,071,596) offset lower daily spending (-0.6%). Once again, we at Hono Koa Resort in scenic West Maui offer you our sincere thanks and hope to see you in 2020.
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Article comes courtesy of the Hawaii Tourism Authority