US (HAWAII). February visitor arrival and spending numbers, published this week by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, paint a robust picture for Hawaii’s tourism industry. But this is all set to change following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of 11 March and the subsequent nuclear crisis.
Buoyed by a strong Yen, arrivals from Japan increased by +8.2% year-on-year in February to 102,906. For the first two months of 2011 Japanese arrivals gained +13.2%. Higher daily visitor spending (US$287 per person, from US259 in February 2010) and increased arrivals contributed to a +21.8% increase in total Japanese visitor spending to US$171.4 million.
Total spending by Japanese visitors for the first two months of 2011 was US$349.3 million, up +27.7% year-on-year.
But those numbers will look very different in coming months as the Japanese nation comes to terms with a continuing catastrophe. Local reports suggest that Japanese arrivals to Hawaii have fallen by between -22% and -25% year-on-year since the earthquake.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority is predicting a decline of 25-30% for April and May. From a travel retail perspective, DFS Group’s business is understood to be still holding up favourably, supported by a strong Yen and the fact that many of this month’s holidaymakers had already paid for their packages. But many large groups, especially incentives, have cancelled.
More positively for the future, Hawaii may be viewed by many Japanese as safe, close to Japan, and a welcome respite from the stresses of the nuclear threat, one local source told The Moodie Report.
Hawaii Tourism Authority officials reportedly plan to spend US$3.1 million on a promotional strategy to offset the loss of Japanese visitors in coming months.
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