Hawaii Saw More Tourists, More Spending in September

Hawaii saw 6.1 percent more people visit Hawaii in September, compared to the previous year, and those tourists spent more money, too. 

Total visitor arrivals amounted to 595,019, while total expenditures by those visitors in the month rose 15.6 percent year over year to $1.1 billion, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. 

Japanese arrivals grew 9 percent, U.S. West arrivals were up 3 percent, and Canadian arrivals down 2 percent in the month of September.

Statement from Mike McCartney, president and CEO of the HTA: 

As we head into the fourth quarter, we anticipate the momentum to continue with increases in airlift thanks to new routes by Hawaiian Airlines from Sapporo and Brisbane, Allegiant Airlines from the West Coast, and Jetstar from Melbourne. These new routes are all servicing secondary cities, which will provide greater ease of access for visitors to come to the Hawaiian Islands. Festivals and events, including the Jazz Festival and Diamond Head Classic, will also help to draw visitors this quarter.

We are encouraged by the growth we have seen in expenditures and arrivals for the year so far, and remain committed to working with the industry and our global marketing partners to achieve our targets of $13.9 billion in expenditures and 7.9 million visitor arrivals by the end of 2012.