Visitor Industry Continued Improvement in October 2024

News Release from DBEDT, November 27, 2024

HONOLULU—According to preliminary statistics from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), there were 774,617 visitors to the Hawaiian Islands in October 2024, growth of 5.4 percent from the same month last year. Total visitor spending measured in nominal dollars was $1.58 billion, up 6.2 percent compared to October 2023. Total visitor arrivals in October 2024 represent a 97.3 percent recovery rate from pre-pandemic October 2019 (796,191, -2.7%) and total nominal visitor spending increased compared to October 2019 ($1.33 billion, +19.6%).

In October 2024, 738,989 visitors arrived by air service, mainly from the U.S. West and U.S. East. Additionally, 35,627 visitors arrived via out-of-state cruise ships. In comparison, 700,390 visitors (+5.5%) arrived by air and 34,251 visitors (+4.0%) came by cruise ships in October 2023, and 775,675 visitors (-4.7%) came by air and 20,516 visitors (+73.7%) came by cruise ships in October 2019.

The average length of stay by all visitors in October 2024 was 8.33 days, which was shorter than October 2023 (8.53 days, -2.4%), but similar to October 2019 (8.38 days, -0.6%). The statewide average daily census1 was 208,032 visitors in October 2024, compared to 202,055 visitors (+3.0%) in October 2023 and 215,125 visitors (-3.3%) in October 2019.

In October 2024, 385,632 visitors arrived from the U.S. West, an increase from October 2023 (362,239 visitors, +6.5%) and October 2019 (354,007 visitors, +8.9%). U.S. West visitor spending of $738.5 million rose compared to October 2023 ($686.4 million, +7.6%) and was significantly higher than October 2019 ($538.7 million, +37.1%). Daily spending by U.S. West visitors in October 2024 ($229 per person) increased compared to October 2023 ($221 per person, +3.4%) and was considerably more than October 2019 ($178 per person, +28.9%).

In October 2024, 167,862 visitors arrived from the U.S. East, up from October 2023 (164,925 visitors, +1.8%) and from October 2019 (148,075 visitors, +13.4%). U.S. East visitor spending of $416.5 million increased from October 2023 ($413.3 million, +0.8%) and October 2019 ($301.2 million, +38.3%). Daily spending by U.S. East visitors in October 2024 ($265 per person) was about the same as October 2023 ($265 per person, -0.2%) but was much higher than October 2019 ($219 per person, +21.1%).

There were 66,957 visitors from Japan in October 2024, which was an increase from October 2023 (58,605 visitors, +14.3%) but continued to be much lower than October 2019 (134,557 visitors, -50.2%). Visitors from Japan spent $100.1 million in October 2024, compared to $87.6 million (+14.2%) in October 2023 and $195.7 million (-48.8%) in October 2019. Daily spending by Japanese visitors in October 2024 ($245 per person) increased from October 2023 ($240 per person, +1.8%), but was lower than October 2019 ($250 per person, -2.1%).

In October 2024, 26,284 visitors arrived from Canada, similar to October 2023 (26,374 visitors, -0.3%), but significantly fewer than October 2019 (32,250 visitors, -18.5%). Visitors from Canada spent $60.7 million in October 2024, compared to $70.0 million (-13.2%) in October 2023 and $63.0 million (-3.6%) in October 2019. Daily spending by Canadian visitors in October 2024 ($232 per person) was more than October 2023 ($226 per person, +3.0%) and considerably higher than October 2019 ($167 per person, +39.4%).

There were 92,255 visitors from all other international markets in October 2024, comprising visitors from Oceania, Other Asia, Europe, Latin America, Guam, the Philippines, the Pacific Islands, and other regions. In comparison, there were 88,248 visitors (+4.5%) from all other international markets in October 2023 and 106,786 visitors (-13.6%) in October 2019.

Air capacity to the Hawaiian Islands in October 2024 (4,680 transpacific flights with 1,033,867 seats) increased compared to October 2023 (4,607 flights, +1.6% with 1,016,203 seats, +1.7%), but declined from October 2019 (4,807 flights, -2.6% with 1,063,333 seats, -2.8%).

Year-to-Date 2024

A total of 8,008,118 visitors arrived in the first 10 months of 2024, which was slightly lower than the 8,062,881 visitors (-0.7%) in the first 10 months of 2023. Total arrivals declined 7.2 percent when compared to 8,625,156 visitors in the first 10 months of 2019.

In the first 10 months of 2024, total visitor spending was $17.09 billion, down from $17.26 billion (-1.0%) in the first 10 months of 2023, but higher than $14.63 billion (+16.8%) in the first 10 months of 2019.

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Island Highlights

Oahu: There were 455,291 visitors to Oahu in October 2024, compared to 447,842 visitors (+1.7%) in October 2023 and 469,339 visitors (-3.0%) in October 2019. Visitor spending was $698.6 million in October 2024, compared to $646.5 million (+8.1%) in October 2023 and $603.8 million (+15.7%) in October 2019. The average daily census on Oahu was 98,602 visitors in October 2024, compared to 99,697 visitors (-1.1%) in October 2023 and 97,715 visitors (+0.9%) in October 2019.

In the first 10 months of 2024, there were 4,822,081 visitors to Oahu, compared to 4,659,331 visitors (+3.5%) in the first 10 months of 2023 and 5,127,219 visitors (-6.0%) in the first 10 months of 2019. For the first 10 months of 2024, total visitor spending was $7.61 billion, which was higher than $7.37 billion (+3.3%) in the first 10 months of 2023 and $6.72 billion (+13.3%) in the first 10 months of 2019.

Maui: Fourteen months after the August 8, 2023, wildfires, there were 180,609 visitors to Maui in October 2024, which was higher than October 2023 (134,493 visitors, +34.3%), but below October 2019 (238,043 visitors, -24.1%). Visitor spending increased to $388.5 million in October 2024, compared to $332.9 million (+16.7%) in October 2023 and $379.8 million (+2.3%) in October 2019. The average daily census on Maui was 45,504 visitors in October 2024, compared to 35,979 visitors (+26.5%) in October 2023 and 59,620 visitors (-23.7%) in October 2019.

In the first 10 months of 2024, there were 1,919,866 visitors to Maui compared to 2,135,048 visitors (-10.1%) in the first 10 months of 2023 and 2,552,155 visitors (-24.8%) in the first 10 months of 2019. For the first 10 months of 2024, total visitor spending was $4.27 billion, compared to $4.95 billion (-13.7%) in the first 10 months of 2023 and $4.24 billion (+0.8%) in the first 10 months of 2019.

Kauai: There were 106,196 visitors to Kauai in October 2024, compared to 110,443 visitors (-3.8%) in October 2023 and 102,662 visitors (+3.4%) in October 2019. Visitor spending was $208.0 million in October 2024, compared to $242.5 million (-14.2%) in October 2023 and $141.9 million (+46.6%) in October 2019. The average daily census on Kauai was 24,592 visitors in October 2024, compared to 26,676 visitors (-7.8%) in October 2023 and 23,338 visitors (+5.4%) in October 2019.

In the first 10 months of 2024, there were 1,142,935 visitors to Kauai, compared to 1,191,103 visitors (-4.0%) in the first 10 months of 2023 and 1,141,889 visitors (+0.1%) in the first 10 months of 2019. For the first 10 months of 2024, total visitor spending was $2.38 billion, compared to $2.30 billion (+3.7%) in the first 10 months of 2023 and $1.60 billion (+49.2%) in the first 10 months of 2019.

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