’98 tourism figures
show some strength
The overall tally,
By Russ Lynch
however, was off 2%
Star-Bulletin
Fewer tourists came to Hawaii in 1998 than the year before, but those who did come stayed longer and almost all of them said they had a great time, according to a final report for last year.
Hawaii hosted 6.74 million visitors last year, down 2 percent from 6.88 million in 1997, said the report, issued today by the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau and the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism. They stayed an average of 8.66 days, however, an increase of 3.2 percent from the average stay of 8.39 percent in 1997, the report said.
Also, the visitor days figure -- that is, the total number of visitors multiplied by the average length of stay -- rose 1.1 percent to 58.3 million.
The tourism industry watched closely the length of stay and visitor days figures because they indicate how much time tourists have to spend money in Hawaii.
A visitor satisfaction survey showed that 68 percent of those who came last year rated Hawaii "excellent" and 31 percent said their experience in the islands was "above average," for a 99 percent overall positive reaction, the report said. Among Japanese visitors, 41 percent rated Hawaii excellent and 56 percent above average, for a 97 percent satisfaction rate.
"Last year was a difficult year for marketing to the Japanese visitor market," said Tony Vericella, the HVCB's president and chief executive officer. "Not only did total outbound Japanese travel fall by early 6 percent last year, those travelers who did take to the skies largely stayed within the Asia region as a preference for short, closer-to-home vacations took center stage."
The HVCB has stepped up its marketing in Japan, including a series of television commercials featuring retired sumo star Konishiki.
While Japan still produced just over 2 million Hawaii tourists last year, the number was down 9.6 percent from more than 2.2 million in 1997.
"Although fewer Japanese visitors came to Hawaii in 1998, the good news is that those who came stayed longer than their counterparts who came to Hawaii during the previous year," said Seiji Naya, DBEDT director.
"Japanese visitor average length of stay rose by 2.9 percent last year, somewhat offsetting the softness in arrivals, and the longer length of stay contributed significantly to Hawaii's economy," Naya said.
Hawaii had 3.9 million visitors from the mainland last year, an 8.3 percent increase from 3.6 million in 1997, the DBEDT-HVCB figures showed.
"The extraordinary growth in the U.S. economy sent Americans traveling last year and HVCB's ongoing marketing efforts on the U.S. mainland ensured that the state capitalized to the fullest extent possible on these favorable travel conditions," Vericella said.
Hawaii's growth from the mainland outpaced the 3.9 percent growth in overall U.S. travel from 1997 to 1998, he said.
Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau
