VISITOR SPENDING AND VISITOR ARRIVALS INCREASED IN FEBRUARY 2026

News Release from DBEDT, March 30, 2026

HONOLULU – According to preliminary statistics from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), total spending by visitors in February 2026 was $1.91 billion (measured in nominal dollars), an increase of 10.3 percent compared to February 2025. In February 2026, 787,024 total visitors came to the Hawaiian Islands, up 3.6 percent compared to February 2025 (759,679 visitors).

There were 760,790 visitors in February 2026 who arrived by air service, mainly from the U.S. West and U.S. East. Additionally, 26,234 visitors arrived via out-of-state cruise ships. In comparison, 739,692 visitors (+2.9%) arrived by air and 19,987 visitors (+31.3%) came by out-of-state cruise ships in February 2025.

The average length of stay by total visitors in February 2026 was 8.69 days, compared to 8.87 days in February 2025. The statewide average daily census in February 2026 was 244,231 visitors compared to 240,627 visitors (+1.5%) in February 2025.

In February 2026, 377,885 visitors arrived from the U.S. West, a 1.9 percent increase from February 2025 (370,989 visitors). In February 2026, total spending by U.S West visitors was $867.3 million, the average daily spending was $282 per person and the average length of stay was 8.14 days. In February 2025, U.S. West visitors on all Hawaiian Islands recorded total spending of $793.5 million, the average daily spending was $254 per person and the average length of stay was 8.42 days.

There were 210,125 visitors from the U.S. East in February 2026, up 5.6 percent from February 2025 (198,985 visitors). In February 2026, total spending by U.S. East visitors was $616.6 million, the average daily spending was $316 per person and the average length of stay was 9.28 days. In February 2025, U.S. East visitors on all Hawaiian Islands recorded total spending of $539.1 million, the average daily spending was $278 per person and the average length of stay was 9.73 days.

In February 2026, 52,377 visitors arrived from Japan, a growth of 9.0 percent from February 2025 (48,032 visitors). In February 2026, total spending by Japanese visitors was $74.0 million, the average daily spending was $243 per person and the average length of stay was 5.80 days. In February 2025, Japanese visitors on all Hawaiian Islands recorded total spending of $68.1 million, the average daily spending was $243 per person and the average length of stay was 5.82 days.

In February 2026, 46,392 visitors arrived from Canada, a 4.6 percent decrease from February 2025 (48,651 visitors). In February 2026, total spending by Canadian visitors was $144.4 million, the average daily spending was $221 per person and the average length of stay was 14.11 days. In February 2025, Canadian visitors on all Hawaiian Islands recorded total spending of $139.7 million, the average daily spending was $241 per person and the average length of stay was 11.91 days.

There were 74,010 visitors from all other international markets in February 2026, which included visitors from Oceania, Other Asia, Europe, Latin America, Guam, the Philippines, the Pacific Islands and other countries. In comparison, there were 73,036 visitors (+1.3%) from all other international markets in February 2025.

Air capacity to Hawai‘i in February 2026 (4,860 transpacific flights with 1,072,409 seats) increased compared to February 2025 (4,484 flights, +8.4% with 994,295 seats, +7.9%).

Year-to-Date 2026

A total of 1,661,382 visitors arrived in the first two months of 2026, up 7.1 percent from 1,551,855 visitors in the first two months of 2025.

In the first two months of 2026, total visitor spending was $4.17 billion, which was an increase from $3.63 billion (+14.8%) in the first two months of 2025.

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Statement by DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka

We are pleased to see positive growth in both visitor spending and visitor arrivals from our core U.S. West and U.S. East markets and from the Japan market in February 2026. The Korea market also recorded strong increases in both visitor spending and arrivals compared to February 2025. The Canadian market continued to be impacted by social and political challenges and recorded lower visitor arrivals and visitor spending in February 2026 compared to the same month last year.

Two-and-a-half years after the August 2023 wildfires, tourism on Maui continued to recover. In February 2026, there was growth in total arrivals (223,227 visitors, +11.5%) and total visitor spending ($571.5 million, +6.8%) compared to February 2025. According to DBEDT’s February 2026 Hotel Performance report, hotel occupancy in Maui County improved to 78.0 percent from 71.5 percent in February 2025. Hotel occupancy in the Lahaina/Kā‘anapali/Kapalua region increased to 76.3 percent from 69.2 percent in February 2025.

We are closely monitoring and awaiting the anticipated impacts to March 2026 visitor numbers stemming from the recent Kona Low storms. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the community members, essential workers and emergency management personnel who worked around the clock and continue to support our communities during the recovery process. I also wish to thank Hawai‘i’s tourism industry for stepping forward to support displaced residents affected by the severe weather.

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