Tourism Authority
lowers 2001 visitor
growth projections

It hopes to achieve only
0.4 percent growth

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By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

THE HAWAII TOURISM AUTHORITY has lowered its sights for 2001 and now says it hopes to achieve only 0.4 percent growth in the tourism statistic that is most important to the island economy, total visitor spending.

The authority yesterday revised its "targets" -- the tourism levels it believes the industry can reach with current promotional programs in place and no unexpected changes in the economy -- and now sees total visitor spending of $11.36 billion as a likelihood this year.

Visitor industry executives have talked lately of a fall-off in future bookings and general uncertainty amid worries over the slipping U.S. economy and rising travel costs for the important Japanese market as the yen has less and less value against the dollar. The authority, which through most of last year felt 2001 would be a positive year, now believes Hawaii will have a hard time matching 2000 in visitor spending.

Behind the new estimates are declining lengths of stay, a slip in the number of expected travelers from Hawaii's biggest market, the West Coast, and a strong drop in Japanese spending. The authority is working toward a target of a 2.2 percent rise in the total annual visitor count, now expected to be 7.13 million tourists in 2001.

The most recent HTA target, set in November and based on the state's experience for only the first half of 2000, was for a 2 percent increase in the head count. The visitor spending figure for all of this year, however, was expected to be up 10.3 percent over 2000.

The revised targets now call for 2.45 million arrivals from the U.S. West, up 1 percent; 1.81 million from the U.S. East, down 1 percent; and 1.93 million from Japan, up 4 percent. In smaller markets, Canadian arrivals are expected to be flat and declines are expected from Europe and Australia-New Zealand.

The average length of stay is expected to decline 1.5 percent among U.S. West travelers and drop 1 percent among those from the U.S. East, remaining the same as in 2000 among the Japanese. That will increase total visitor days by 0.7 percent over 2000.

Spending by Japanese tourists is expected to be $214 per person per day in 2001, a drop of 5.5 percent in the daily average, bringing total Japanese spending down 1.7 percent to $2.3 billion for the year.