US (HAWAII). Japanese visitor arrivals to Hawaii eased by a marginal -0.4% in September to 115,166, according to preliminary statistics released this week by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Arrivals were affected by the lack of a five-day holiday sequence (Silver Week) as in September 2009. Instead, a run of three- or four-day breaks favoured travel to short-haul destinations.
However, the state posted a +5.7% growth in visitor days for Japanese travellers due to longer lengths of stay.
Total arrivals by air rose +8.9% from September 2009 to 528,304 visitors. US West (+13.5%) and Canada (+13.3%) showed strong growth, while US East (-0.7%) eased.
Total expenditures by visitors to Hawaii in September soared +22.2% or US$160.1 million to US$880.2 million over the same period last year. The growth in visitor spending was due to a boost in average daily visitor spending (+11.5%) and an +8.9% increase in total visitor arrivals to 538,516.
Total expenditures for the first nine months of 2010 were US$8.4 billion, an increase of +13.7%.
For the first three quarters of 2010, total visitor days for all visitors grew +7.6% compared to the same period in 2009, and total arrivals rose +7.2% to 5,298,830 visitors.
INCREASE IN JAPANESE SPENDING
For the month of September 2010 higher daily spending (US$282 per person, from US$254 per person in 2009) and a longer average length of stay (5.92 days from 5.58 days last September) contributed to a +17.3 % increase in total Japanese visitor spending to US$192.5 million.
Compared to the same period last year, September 2010 saw a loss in Japanese visitors travelling as part of an organised tour group (-16.9%). Japanese visitors who made their own travel arrangements (FITs) decreased by -5% in the month. However year-to-date FIT travellers remained +21% ahead of the same period last year.
Total spending by Japanese visitors in the first nine months of 2010 was US$1.39 billion, up +3.7% from the same period last year. Total Japanese visitor arrivals increased by +5.5% but year-to-date average daily spending continued to be lower at US$258 per person, compared to US$266 per person in 2009.
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