Visitor arrivals lag
again in August

But eastbound tourists stayed
a bit longer than they did
a year ago

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii's tourist numbers were down for August and the first eight months of the year, compared to 1996, but longer stays by the Japanese and other Asia-Pacific visitors balanced the overall economic impact, according to the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau.

Total visitor arrivals in August were down 1.3 percent, for a total of 639,330, compared to 647,660 in the previous August. Hawaii had 4.66 million tourists in the first eight months of this year, down 0.9 percent from 4.7 million in the equivalent period last year.

The August length of stay by westbound tourists -- those from the mainland, Canada and Europe -- was down very slightly at an average of 9.62 days compared to 9.63 days in the year-earlier month.

However eastbound tourists, from Japan and other Pacific Rim countries, stayed an average of 5.83 days, a few hours more than the 5.54 days they stayed in the previous August.

The increase in the eastbound length of stay was enough to counter the drop in the total number of tourists to produce an average daily visitor census of 166,300 in August, up 0.4 percent from 165,640 in August of last year.

August westbound arrivals were down 0.3 percent at 376,780, from 377,960 in the previous August. Eastbound arrivals were down 2.7 percent at 262,550, from 269,900.

The overall tourism picture was helped by Continental Airlines' new direct service from Houston to Honolulu, which began Aug. 1. That lifted business from Texas and the southwest by 17 percent, the HVCB said.

"Our new nonstop Houston-Honolulu flights achieved a load factor of 89 percent in August and over 85 percent in September," said Ron Wright, Continental's managing director in Hawaii.

However the Pacific region, including Hawaii's traditional biggest markets on the West Coast, showed a 1.1 percent dip in traffic.

The HVCB said there was more activity among the neighbor islands, with the number of people who visited more than one island increasing 6.1 percent for August.

The Big Island and Kauai were the winners. The Big Island had a 10.1 percent increase in August visitors for a total of 120,530, compared to 109,430 in the previous August. Kauai's August total rose 2.9 percent to 88,010, compared to 85,540 in August 1996.

Maui's August total was up 0.2 percent at 211,570, from 211,080 in the year-earlier month. Lanai showed the biggest percentage drop, 23 percent fewer tourists for a total of 6,900 in August, compared to 8,960 the previous August. Molokai visitor arrivals were down 6.1 percent at 5,200, from 5,540 in August of last year.