Japanese arrivals to Hawaii post another double-digit fall in Aug.

HAWAII—Total air visitor expenditures were down -17.6 percent or US$206.9 million in August, according to new figures from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

The August slump was caused by lower daily spending (-3.1 percent to US$174 per person) and a -17.3 percent decline in arrivals by air to 606,342 visitors.

The key statistics from a travel retail perspective were those related to the Japanese market. Japanese arrivals decreased by -13.9 percent to 121,336 in the month, following a -11.7 percent decline in July.

For the year-to-date (January-August) Japanese visitor numbers have fallen by -7.9 percent. And they are not coming off a strong 2007 – in that year Japanese arrivals fell -3.5 percent compared with 2006.

Among the top four visitor markets in August, air arrivals from Canada increased by +8.5 percent year-on-year to 19,101 but visitations from the US West (-24.2 percent), US East (-16.5 percent) and, as mentioned, Japan (-13.9 percent) were down sharply from last year.

For a variety of reasons – fuel surcharges on tickets due to rising oil prices have been key – the Japanese market has been very soft in Hawaii throughout the year, coming off that weak 2007. While per person per trip spending rose +2.0 percent in August, that was not enough to offset the downturn in arrivals, with total expenditure by Japanese visitors in the month falling by -12.2 percent to US$178 million (year-to-date -2.1 percent to US$1,249.5 million).

More Japanese visitors came to the islands to honeymoon (+6 percent) or to get married (+2.7 percent) in August compared to the same month a year earlier. For the first eight months of 2008 there were 119,431 honeymooners from Japan, up +4.7 percent year-on-year. There were also more repeat visitors from Japan in August 2008 compared to the same month last year (70.8 percent versus 68.9 percent).

But in the face of intense competition from other destinations, notably shorter-haul, cheaper intra-Asia alternatives, Hawaii faces a major challenge in arresting the Japanese decline.

State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert commented: “Hawaii’s visitor industry is feeling the effects of the continued softness in the national economy. The performance of Hawaii’s summer season exemplifies the volatility of the visitor industry on uncontrollable outside factors.

“Rising fuel prices, the loss of two Norwegian Cruise ships and a decrease in international cruise ship visits, the mortgage crisis and consumer confidence have all played a part in tourism’s decline.

“On a positive note, even with the continued declines from the US and Japan, visitors from Canada continue to grow, extending the typical Canadian visitor season to our islands,” said Wienert.

Putting an upbeat spin on grim numbers, she noted: “Hawaii’s visitor industry is resilient and even with the current challenges there are still many opportunities to increase visitors in both the short and long term. Airlines have not cut flights to Hawaii at the level as many other destinations, and in fact we will be gaining new seats this fall.

“Starting in October Delta Airlines will resume several flights to the islands that had been cancelled earlier in the year. Alaska Airlines will be adding flights from Seattle to Kona in November and Anchorage to Kahului in October with seasonal flights from Honolulu to Anchorage. The biggest challenge we face moving forward is to increase demand for our islands. By increasing demand the visitor industry and our economy will benefit.”

The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s recently published 2007 Annual Visitor Research Report noted “exceptional double-digit” increases in expenditures and visitors days by visitors from Canada, Oceania and ‘Other Asia’.

The Hawaiian tourism sector is hoping that with the easing of travel restrictions for South Korean and Chinese visitors (part of ‘Other Asia’), those markets will grow fast in coming years. [B][I](www.TheMoodieReport.com)[/I][/B]