Oahu takes brunt
of fall in arrivalsThe number of visitors
in May fell 7.4 percent
A 40 percent drop in Japanese arrivals, brought on by the SARS outbreak, hit Waikiki visitor arrivals hard in May, but Maui and the Big Island did better than last year, according to data released today by the state.
Statewide visitors arrivals fell 7.4 percent last month to 469,905 visitors from 507,680 in the same month last year, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
U.S. West arrivals increased 2.9 percent to 205,254 travelers from 199,397 last year, and U.S. East arrivals rose 1.2 percent to 133,602 visitors from 132,047 last year. Arrivals from U.S. cities made up 77 percent of Hawaii's total visitors in May.
In Hawaii's next largest market, Japan, the 40 percent drop-off in visitors was worse than in April, when Japanese tourism was down by one-third.
Last month 71,836 visitors came to the islands from Japan, down by more than 37,000 from the 119,135 who came from Japan in the previous May.
The worst seems to be over, since visitor arrivals this month from Japan have been down by about 30 percent, according to preliminary state data. Gov. Linda Lingle is planning to go to Japan in July to promote Hawaii tourism.
The loss of Japanese tourists has primarily been hitting Waikiki. Oahu's arrivals were down 16.1 percent in May, while Maui arrivals were up 4.2 percent and Big Island arrivals were up 2.1 percent.
Kauai arrivals fell 3.9 percent, mainly because the Garden Isle lost half of its Japanese visitors. Molokai arrivals were up nearly 20 percent and Lanai arrivals were down 28 percent.
The state predicts that visitors will spend $10.1 billion in Hawaii this year, up 3 percent from $9.8 billion last year, and up 9.8 percent from $9.2 billion in 2001.