Tovin Lapan
Despite numerous bumps in the road in 2018 that could have derailed Hawaii's momentum, the state appears on track to surpass 10 million annual visitors for the first time.
According to recently released data from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the Aloha State has welcomed nearly 7.5 million visitors through the first three quarters of the year, a 6.5% increase over the same period in 2017. If year-over-year figures were to remain flat over the final quarter, the state would hit nearly 9.9 million visitors, a record, based on arrivals for the final three months of 2017. If the trend of more than 6% growth in visitation continues through the end of the year, the projected total would be over 10 million. Visitor spending is also up through the first three quarters of 2018, reaching a total of $13.62 billion, a roughly 10% increase.
In 2017, Hawaii set records for total arrivals and visitor spending for the sixth consecutive year, registering nearly 9.4 million visitors who spent $16.78 billion.
The fact that the state remains on track for the 10 million mark is an indicator of the strong tourism market for the islands, as there were several reasons why numbers could have dipped in 2018 -- the most significant being the months of damaging volcanic activity and tremors on the Island of Hawaii. Additionally, the north shore of Kauai experienced heavy flooding in April, and some roads damaged in the storm are still being repaired. The tropical storm season also was heavier than previous years, with Hurricane Lane lashing the islands in August in addition to other storms that brought significant precipitation and power outages.
Hawaii Island, which also took the brunt of Hurricane Lane's force when it passed, has seen a dip in visitation during the third quarter of 2018, but overall through the first nine months of the year visitation is still up compared to 2017 by 0.6%. In September, visitation to the island was down 14% compared to September 2017, and in August the year-over-year drop was 12%. Kilauea volcano ceased its disruptive and damaging activity in August, and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park reopened in September. Now, tourism officials are hopeful the figures will stabilize. Last year, the Island of Hawaii led all the islands in visitor and spending growth, with double-digit increases in both categories.
All of the Hawaiian Islands realized growth in visitor spending and visitor arrivals in the first three quarters compared to last year, but with Hawaii Island struggling through the late summer, the three other most visited islands of Oahu, Kauai and Maui are pushing the gains and leading Hawaii toward the 10 million visitors finish line.
On Oahu year to date, roughly 4.5 million visitors have come through, a 5% increase compared to the same period in 2017. Visitation on Maui and Kauai grew even more, with 8% and 9% gains respectively through three quarters. Almost all major markets demonstrated increased air traffic into Hawaii, including the U.S. West, U.S. East and Canada, but air arrivals from Japan were down 2% in the first nine months.