Visitor arrivals
continue rising

Benefiting from the NFL Pro Bowl and record travel from the U.S. mainland, Hawaii's statewide visitor count jumped 6.8 percent last month.

The number of visitor arrivals increased to 573,212 in February from February 2004's 536,518, boosting visitor spending 4.1 percent to $864.2 million for the month, according to figures released yesterday by the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.

"We continue to be encouraged by the strong performance of Hawaii's visitor industry," said State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert. "Visitor arrivals exceeded all expectations. ... February was an outstanding month for the visitor industry."

The growth in total arrivals was led by the domestic visitor market, which rose 8.7 percent to a February record of 403,552 visitors, Wienert said.

Arrivals from the eastern United States contributed heavily to gains with an 11.4 percent upswing to 170,903 visitors compared to 2004's February finish of 153,394 visitors. West Coast arrivals rose 6.5 percent to 205,741 from the year-earlier's 193,134.

"Our hotels are doing very, very well compared to last year," said Stan Brown, Marriott International's vice president for the Pacific and Japan. "Arrivals are very strong and the weather trends on the U.S. West and East coasts are continuing to spike the volumes."

The state said the Pro Bowl attracted 25,400 visitors, up from 22,000 last year.

Although many hoteliers have reported a drop in prebookings for spring, the addition of spring air seats should boost travel into the second quarter, Brown said.

Arrivals from Hawaii's international market, led by increases from Japan and Canada, rose 2.7 percent. About 169,660 international visitors came to Hawaii last month as compared to the year earlier's 165,228. Additionally, the number of cruise passengers touring the islands jumped 19.6 percent.