The Hawaii Tourism Authority recently released preliminary figures for December marking the first time we have complete data for 2012, a year that was already shaping up to be a strong year for the visitor industry. In fact, it was record breaking. More than 7.8 million visitors arrived by air in 2012, up 9.2% from the previous year. More significantly, perhaps, those 7.8 million visitors also represent a 4.1% increase from the previous record set in 2006. All of Hawaii’s major visitor markets contributed to growth with moderate gains from North America, a strong recovery in visitors from Japan, and rapid growth from new developing markets in East Asia and Oceania.
US MAINLAND
Hawaii received nearly 4.9 million visitors by air from the US mainland. This is 5.5% more visitors than flew from the mainland in 2011 but still below the record of almost 5.2 million US visitors set in 2006. The growth in overall visitors came from other markets (see below).
JAPAN
2011 was a weak year for travel from Japan following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. This market rebounded convincingly with strong growth in 2012; Japanese visitor arrivals were 1.45 million in 2012, up 17% from the previous year.
Total visitor expenditures by Japanese visitors in the State increased by a whopping 21.7% from 2011 to 2012. While most of the expenditure gains were from increased arrivals, there were also some gains in per person spending. The average Japanese visitor spent $1810 per trip, up 4% from the previous year.
CANADA
Rounding out the State’s largest visitor markets, the number of Canadian visitors increased by 4.3% from the previous year and set a new record at 500,000. The number of Canadian visitors to the state has doubled since 2005.
Canadian visitors, on average, stay much longer in the State than either US or Japanese visitors and the difference increased in 2012. Whereas the average trip from visitors from the mainland US and Japan (9.9 days and 6 days respectively) were unchanged from 2012, the average Canadian visit was 13 days long in 2012, up from 12.7 days in 2011.
On top of that the average Canadian visitor increased their daily spending as well. Consequently total visitor expenditures by Canadians in the state increased 9.8% to almost $1 billion in 2012; driven by all of the factors mentioned previously. The average Canadian visitor spent $2000 in Hawaii over the course of their trip, more than either US or Japanese visitors.
GROWTH MARKETS
While the state’s three largest visitor markets saw healthy growth in 2012, the fastest growing markets were in East Asia and Oceania. The China and South Korea markets experienced the highest arrivals growth rate in 2012 clocking in at 42% and 39% respectively. Australia (+34%) and New Zealand (+23%) posted strong growth as well. Visitors from these four countries accounted for 7% of total visitor arrivals in 2012, up from 5.6% in 2011 and less than 3% in 2005. More information on these smaller visitor markets, such as length of stay and spending patterns, will be available later this year.
Overall 2012 was a strong year for the State’s visitor industry. Both mature and developing visitor markets saw healthy increases in the number of visitors flying to the State with the average visitor spending more than the previous year.
For a complete comparison of 2012 Visitor Mix to 2011, visit our chart gallery.
– James Jones