Hawaii’s Record Spending Year Just Showed Who’s In and Who’s Not

Visitor spending in Hawaii rose to $21.75 billion in the state’s final 2025 numbers, even as total arrivals fell below 9.65 million. Fewer people came, more money was taken in, and that contrast tells the story.

According to the state’s press release covering final 2025 data and December’s snapshot, arrivals fell 0.6% for the year while spending rose 5.7%. That gap is largely about one thing. Daily costs climbed while trips got shorter. People paid more per day, then left sooner to make the cost work.

Average daily spending rose to $259.80 for the year, up 6.7%. December sharpened the picture further. Arrivals were down 4.3%, daily spending jumped 11% to $273, and the average stay slipped to 8.92 days from 9.14. The meter is running harder, but not longer.

The basics got more expensive. But nothing else changed.

The $21.75 billion headline hides the source of the growth. The state’s own breakdown shows the biggest spending increases were in lodging, food and beverage, and transportation. Those are not splurges. They represent the cost of sleeping, eating, and getting to and around Hawaii.

Visitors are not suddenly booking more tours or filling shopping bags. They are paying more to eat, more for rent, and more for airfare and rental cars. That is why daily spending rose even as stays continue to shorten.

The travelers most affected by the shift are those who used to make Hawaii work over the long haul. Families who stretched trips to ten days or longer. Repeat visitors who split time between multiple islands. And price-conscious travelers who returned year after year because the numbers still worked out. As the costs continue to rise, those trips are shorter, stop happening entirely, and those travelers start looking elsewhere.

Mainland visitors paid more and stayed for shorter periods.

The sharpest spending jumps came from mainland travelers. In December, U.S. East Coast daily spending jumped 18.3% to $308 per person per day. West Coast daily spending rose 14.5% to $266. Neither group vacationed longer. They paid more for shorter stays.

Canada shows what happens next. A market built around long stays and affordable airfares fell 11.6% for the year and 14% in December. That is the clearest example of a key visitor base squeezed out, and international arrivals overall followed the same course. Some of that decline is also attributed to international visitors choosing not to come to the United States.

Oahu took the hit while Maui improved.

Nowhere did the shift show up more clearly than on Oahu. December arrivals fell 7.7%, and the average daily census dropped 13.6%. Fewer people were on the island at any given time, even as spending totals rose.

For the full year, Oahu saw 5,679,047 visitors, down a minor 2%, while spending climbed 5.3% to $9.42 billion. Daily spending averaged $238. There is contraction throughout, largely disguised by higher prices.

Maui moved in the other direction. Arrivals rose 7% for the year, spending jumped 12.7%, and daily spending hit $305. Maui did more than just recover; it reset the price of island entry. Kauai and the Big Island held closer to flat in terms of spending, with daily costs climbing to $281 and $245, respectively.

Shorter trips tell you everything.

Length of stay is where this finally makes sense. Hawaii has always relied on time. Long visits softened the impact on airfare costs, helped justify higher nightly rates, and kept repeat visitors coming back.

Now, stays are getting shorter while daily costs continue to climb. We regularly see visitors doing one big Costco run at the beginning of their trip, instead of two spread out. More nice dinners out are turning into plate lunches, food trucks, and grocery poke. We notice it walking on beaches that seem to clear out earlier in the day, as people pack for a redeye departure that maximizes Hawaii vacation time. Overall, it shows up as paying more to be here for less time.

The shift is no longer something travelers just sense when they price a trip or trim a stay. It is official, itemized, and totaled by the state at $21.75 billion. Visitor spending in Hawaii rose to $21.75 billion in the latest complete 2025 numbers, even as total arrivals fell below 9.65 million. Fewer people came, more money was taken in, and that contrast tells the story.

According to the state’s January 29 release covering final 2025 data and December’s snapshot, arrivals fell 0.6% for the year while spending rose 5.7%. That gap is largely about one thing. Daily costs climbed while trips got shorter. People paid more per day, then left sooner to make the cost work. This is not a rebound story by any stretch.

Average daily spending rose to $259.80 for the year, up 6.7%. December sharpened the picture further. Arrivals were down 4.3%, daily spending jumped 11% to $273, and the average stay slipped to 8.92 days from 9.14. The meter is running harder, but not longer.

The shift is no longer something travelers just sense when they price a trip or trim a stay. It is official, itemized, and totaled by the state at $21.75 billion. Not a rebound story, it leaves little doubt about who is still in and who is not.

Photo Credit: © Beat of Hawaii at Lili’uokalani Gardens in Hilo.