STAR-BULLETIN FILE PHOTO
Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Star has been the only year-round cruise ship in Hawaii. Next year, the field gets more crowded as the Norwegian Wind comes back in May, the Pride of America is launched in July and the Pride of Aloha starts sailing in October.
Cruise traffic up 2.3%
through third quarterAverage spending was down, however,
falling to less than $100 per day
The number of cruise ship visitors to the state rose 2.3 percent in the first nine months of the year from last year, bringing 169,730 people, though average spending declined 4.1 percent to $99.46 per person per day.
The number of cruisers from the U.S. mainland fell slightly, but that was made up for by increases in Canadian, European and other visitors. More than 84 percent of isle cruise visitors were from the United States, according to data released yesterday by the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.
The number of ship arrivals remained at 34, but ship tours increased slightly to 92 from 90 last year. Nearly 42 percent of out-of-state cruisers were first-time visitors to the islands, up from 40.8 percent last year.
Cruise customers spent more than they did last year on shopping and tours, but less on lodging, transportation and eating, the data showed.
Cruisers represent less than 4 percent of the estimated 6.4 million people visiting the state this year. Norwegian Cruise Line, which plans to launch two U.S.-flagged interisland cruise ships in July and October, expects to bring 400,000 passengers a year to Hawaii by 2005, a big increase from the total 235,027 out-of-state cruisers last year.
The number of Hawaii residents taking a cruise dropped 19 percent in the first nine months of the year to 4,052 from 4,996 in the same period last year.
