HONOLULU (KHON2) — April 2024 brought some changes to Hawaii’s tourist landscape, with fewer people visiting the islands compared to last year, according to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
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Visitor numbers in April 2024 were 753,551, down 8.9% from April 2023. Spending followed suit, down 12.6% to a total of $1.51 billion.
Air travel remained the leading mode of travel, with 721,855 travelers arriving by plane, primarily from the western and eastern U.S. However, the number of travelers arriving by cruise ship fell to 31,695.
Despite the decline, there are signs of recovery compared to pre-pandemic levels: in April 2024, visitor numbers recovered by 88.7% compared to April 2019, and spending was 14.3% above 2019 figures.
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Digging deeper, visitors from the Western US totaled 390,111, down from last year but slightly up from 2019. This group’s spending was down from last year but significantly up from 2019. Visitors from the Eastern US showed a similar trend.
Overseas, the number of Japanese travelers increased significantly from last year, but remained at a lower level than in 2019. However, travel spending in April 2024 is on the rise compared to both years.
Meanwhile, while the number of visitors from Canada decreased slightly, spending per person increased compared to the previous year.
April 2024 also saw a decline in visitors from other international markets, including Oceania, Asia, Europe and Latin America.
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In terms of air travel, there were fewer trans-Pacific flights to Hawaii in April 2024 compared to the previous year, suggesting visitor numbers may be affected.
