(The Center Square) – Hawaii saw an uptick in visitors in June compared to last year and is close to reaching levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
There were 889,274 people that visited the Hawaiian Islands in June, 5.5% more than in June 2022 and a nearly 94% recovery in total visitors from June 2019, DBEDT reported.
Fewer visitors from the U.S. mainland visited the Aloha State in June than they did during the same month last year. The number of visitors from the U.S. West was down by 2.2% from June 2022, and the number of visitors from the U.S. East was also down slightly by 1%, according to preliminary visitor statistics.
Although fewer travelers from the U.S. mainland were there than in June last year, it was still more than before the COVID-19 pandemic. From the U.S. West, 7.6% more people visited Hawaii in June this year compared to June 2019. Similarly, 2.9% more people traveled to Hawaii from the U.S. East in June than the same month in 2019, DBEDT said.
Even though fewer people from the U.S. mainland visited Hawaii in June compared to June 2022, those visitors collectively spent more money. A little over $1 billion was spent by travelers visiting from the U.S. West in June, which was 4.6% more than what was spent by more travelers from the same area last year.
Travelers from the U.S. East spent 1.5% more than the significant number of U.S. East travelers in June 2022. Daily spending also increased among both groups.
Visitors from Japan shot up by over 291% over the past year but was still significantly less than the number of people who traveled to Hawaii from Japan before COVID-19, visitor statistics indicated.
Hawaii welcomed 46,753 people from Japan in June, up from 11,940 travelers in June 2022. Before COVID-19, Hawaii saw over 126,000 visitors from Japan in June 2019, over 63% more than in June this year.
“June visitor statistics indicate that our visitor industry continues a steady recovery,” said DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka. “The total visitor arrivals of 889,274 in June 2023 was the third-highest June in our history. Japanese arrivals in June 2023 at 46,753 was the highest since March 2020 and represented a 36.9 percent recovery from the same month in 2019. In DBEDT’s tourism forecast, we expect Japanese arrivals will recover to about 50 percent of the 2019 level by the end of this year.”
Hawaii saw 19,237 Canadians visit during June, a 23% increase from the same month last year, and a slight 0.3% increase from pre-pandemic visitor levels tracked in June 2019, according to DBEDT.
A total of 85,379 visitors arrived in Hawaii from other international markets during June, a 29% increase from last year but still 20.5% less than pre-pandemic numbers, DBEDT reported.
