Visitor arrivals rise,
across the board

The state welcomed more visitors
in March from all of Hawaii's
major world markets

Double-digit percentage increases in both mainland and international visitors boosted March arrivals 14.2 percent over a year ago, according to data released yesterday.

The state hosted 663,693 visitors last month, according to monthly figures from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, an increase from the 581,222 visitors that came to the islands a year earlier.

"We are very pleased to see continuing recovery from the international market and outstanding growth in domestic arrivals to the state," said state tourism liaison Marsha Wienert.

The increase in arrivals boosted overall March spending, with total visitor expenditures rising 19.1 percent to $959.7 million.

During the first two months of 2005, per-person, per-day spending had dipped; however it rose by 3.1 percent in March to $159.10, still leaving the first quarter behind 0.2 percent.

Visitor numbers were bolstered by 480,329 arrivals from the mainland, which the department called the best March on record for that segment. International arrivals also exceeded March 2004 results by 10.7 percent with increases from Japan and Canada.

"I can't ever remember a time when all of our major markets were in an up mode for more than one month," said David Carey, president and chief executive officer of Outrigger Hotels & Resorts.

While March arrivals from Japan were still below levels reached during the mid-to late 1990s when they routinely exceeded 150,000 visitors per month, the market continued to strengthen. The number of Japanese travelers visiting Hawaii last month rose 8.4 percent to 124,144.

A stronger yen and improved economic conditions in Japan are expected to continue to boost the market in the coming months, said Gilbert Kimura, Hawaii regional manager for Japan Airlines.

"The traditional Japanese Golden Week vacation period, stretching this year from April 28 to May 8, is forecast to yield positive results for JAL Group airlines," Kimura said.

About 32,547 Japanese travelers plan to visit Hawaii during Golden Week, an increase of 6.2 percent over the same period in 2004, he said.

"The market is a mixed blessing for us," Carey said. "We're thrilled that the marketplace is cranking, but on the other hand we've just torn down a bunch of buildings to begin construction of the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Walk project."

The fact that Outrigger has removed more than 1,300 hotel rooms from Waikiki's inventory will boost rates and demand in the coming months, he said.

"There's momentum out there," Carey said.

The growth in domestic arrivals for March also was fueled by the timing of Spring Break vacation, which came in March this year instead of April, Wienert said.

"Spring Break is always a popular time so my business was up about 50 percent over last year," said Annette Thompson of Hawaii Surf & Sand Vacations, which owns and manages about 400 rentals throughout the islands.

Occupancy and rates were at record March, Thompson said, with the North Shore her most popular vacation destination.

The Big Island and Oahu led March gains in visitor count, but growth was distributed throughout the state. The Big Island saw a 23.1 percent increase in visitors to 132,314 and Oahu's count rose 13.5 percent to 412,436. Both Maui and Kauai posted more than 7 percent gains, while Molokai and Lanai reported slight decreases.

For the entire first quarter, 1.6 million visitors came to the state, an increase of 12.3 percent from the same time last year. Domestic arrivals rose 11.8 percent for the quarter to 1.1 million.