Overall isle visitor
arrivals slip in JuneContinuing a trend,
domestic tourism is up,
while international falls
Hawaii's tourist count fell 1.5 percent over the first six months of 2003, compared with the same period last year, but total visitor days increased 5.6 percent due to visitors staying longer, the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism said yesterday.
Domestic arrivals increased 2.8 percent during the first half of the year, while foreign arrivals dropped 11.4 percent, the department said.
"We are encouraged by the steady growth in the number of domestic visitors to the state over the first half of the year," department Director Theodore E. Liu said. "This increase has sustained us through a challenging period for the international market segment.
"Now that travel warnings for the SARS illness have been lifted throughout most of Asia, we hope we will see an increase in international arrivals toward the end of the year," he said.
Oahu saw the largest decline in visitors from January through June, a 7.4 percent drop compared with the first six months of 2002. Meanwhile, the Big Island's visitor count fell 1.1 percent and Kauai's count was off 0.7 percent.
For Maui County it was another story, with the visitor count rising 6.9 percent on the Valley Island, 15.1 percent on Molokai and 7.7 percent on Lanai.
The neighbor islands are traditionally much more dependent on domestic travelers than Oahu, which has a greater percentage of Japanese visitors.
For June, total arrivals were off 6.7 percent from the same month last year, with domestic arrivals increasing 2 percent and international arrivals plunging 28.3 percent.
Last month's domestic visitor count was helped by the Snickers U.S. Youth Soccer Far West Regionals, a six-day tournament that attracted close to 8,000 visitors, the department said.
Though international arrivals continue to be weak, officials are optimistic the levels may be on the rebound.
The Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau earlier this week said it is noticing a rise in Japanese bookings for this summer.
According to the Japan Travel Bureau, tour package bookings for Hawaii have been ahead of last year's pace since mid-June.
Visitors from the West Coast continue to make up the largest market for Hawaii, but were up only 0.6 percent last month, though the length of stay rose to 10.57 days from 10.06.
The number of East Coast visitors inched up 0.8 percent. Likewise, the length of stay increase, to nearly 11.5 days from 10.66 last year.
