We welcomed over 856,000 visitors to the islands in April who spent in total $1.33 billion. Maybe you were among them? This Hawaii tourism trend indicates a 7% increase in visitors over the prior year, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. At the same time, however, visitor spending dropped by 6% compared with April 2018.
Visitors from the Western part of the US were up by 14% compared with 2018, which included a 20% increase from California and 59% increase from Nevada.
Spending of visitors from the Western US was up 1%, but eastern US was down 8%, and international visitors spent 23% less. Overall, daily visitor spending was down 9% to $188 per person in April.
The islands of Maui and Oahu overall had growth in arrivals with simultaneous drop in spending. On the Big Island and Kauai, both visitor arrivals and spending were down slightly.
There were 1.1 million available airline seats to Hawaii from the mainland, an increase of 3%.
What Latest Hawaii Tourism Trend Means.
What we are seeing is that visitors are spending less on accommodations, food and activities once they hit the shores here in Hawaii. Vacation rentals are trending instead of hotel stays in order to reduce costs associated with both accommodations and food.
This is a phenomena that we participate in ourselves. For all but the shortest of says in Honolulu, we are continuing to choose vacation rentals for a variety of reasons. See today’s post: Hawaii Vacation Rentals or Hawaii Hotels | 20 Money Saving Tips.
We just returned from 8 glorious days on Kauai. Rented a condo for $200/night, saved a ton on meals. We did have a mediocre dinner at Princeville Resort (former St.Regis) for $300, but the dinners at Bar Acuda in Hanalei and Palate Wine Bar were So Much Better for half the price. Hotels really need to up their game!
We usually use our timeshare or a condo rental for two weeks. Coming for one week is not economically feasible – too far to come for a week. Thankfully, we are able to get away for two weeks during winter. Not everyone can.
We Eat in to save $$. Like to eat out if food is good. We loved Keoki’s Paradise in Poipu and Sam’s Ocean Front in Kapaa on Kauai, Mama’s on Maui and Browns
Beach House, Fairmont Orchid, Big Island.
We too had a horrible lunch at St. Regis in Princeville – think $50 burgers that were no better than Burger King. Snooty service. Had to go ask for flatware, even. Happy to see tips for our next visit to Kauai. Thank you Keith.
We still spend but spend less on ‘things to do’ since we have been to the islands several times now and more on a good meal. I would guess that Spending probably depends a lot on the age demographic.
Unfortunately, by the time we pay for a place to stay for two weeks and airfare to/from the islands, not much left over for frivolous spending. Thank goodness for Costco!
We have visited Hawaii many times over the years, and had wonderful experiences at vacation rentals on Kauai, Big Island, Molokai, and Maui. Nothing beats the experience! We’ve stayed on ranches, in beach front, or ocean view condos. We’ve also been fortunate enough to stay upcountry in Maui, in Volcano, as well as numerous other unique places. All at a fraction of the cost of an average priced resort.
We not only save money on accommodations, and dining out for 3 meals a day, but we get to experience the real Hawaii, which is very difficult to do at a resort. Resorts do serve a purpose, and can be a wonderful experience too, but I would rather spend half the money, and go twice as often. 😊
Maybe the hotels and restaurants will start to get the message. We’ve been coming to Kauai for the past nine years and the yearly price increases are getting out of hand. People come to Hawaii to enjoy the beaches, the sun, the water, and the occasional activity. The amount of time people spend In their accommodations simply doesn’t justify their spending what the hotels are asking. People are learning that you can enjoy everything the islands have to offer, and in some ways enjoy it more, in a vacation rental. And the “high end” restaurants, where steaks are now $50-$70, are seeing fewer customers while low to mid-priced restaurants are jam packed. Thank goodness Kauai has Costco, Walmart, and Safeway.
Agreed on hotel costs. I do however like to stay at a resort (for at least part of our stay) for the views (which can be better than some condo’s) as well as amenities such as pools, restaurants, bars. Also the ability to walk vs. drive to shops and restaurants (again depending on location). Last year we did spend a couple of days in a condo in Hana which was tremendous overlooking the Ocean and beautiful sunrises.
Rather than ‘stay’ at the nice resorts, we eat breakfast there and then just stroll their lovely grounds and sit on a bench and enjoy the scenery for a while. Sometimes we linger long enough to have lunch :0) We have also used the facilities by purchasing lunch/drinks at the beach and then are able to use hotel loungers.
Can’t beat the views with breakfast at the Four Seasons on the Big Island. Lovely.
Maybe tourists are learning to spend wisely and use the swap meet, Walmart, Costco, and other less expensive vendors.