Da Hawaii visitor industry stay feelin’ da aloha dis February, as arrivals wen recova 96.5% of da pre-pandemic times. Da numba one question stay if dis kine action goin’ last thru da summa o’ wot? ?☀️
Fo’ da las’ six months, da recova rate stay ova 90%, but da February numbas stay small kine less den da highes’ rate since da pandemic. We had 753,750 visitors come Hawaii in February, down 3.5% from February 2019, and up 19.5% from February 2022. Dat’s one good progress! ??♂️
Da peopo who wen come Hawaii in February wen spend mo’ money den da ones who wen come in 2022 and 2019. Visitor spending in February wen hit $1.64 billion, up 25% from February 2022 and 18% from February 2019. ??
Fo’ da first two months of 2023, mo’ den 1.5 million visitors wen arrive, 28.3% mo’ den da 1.2 million visitors who wen come during da same time in 2022. But still, da total arrivals stay down 3.3% wen compared wit’ da first two months of 2019. Yea, year to date thru February, visitor spending wen hit $3.53 billion, up 30.5% from da first two months of 2022 and up 17.6% from da same time in 2019. ??
Da February and January numbas stay bettah den plenny peopo in da Hawaii visitor industry wen tink, cuz had softness from da fall time and thru da holiday season. But one ting stay, da changes in da market since da COVID-19 stay making tings mo’ difficult fo’ compare and fo’ predict da future. Da local visitor industry stay hoping dat by May, tings goin’ pick up, and summa no goin’ be too bad. ??
Jack Richards, da big boss fo’ Pleasant Holidays, wen say, “Unless get one big change in da booking patterns, we goin’ look at one of da slowest summers I seen in plenny, plenny years.” ??️
Richards stay adding, “Get one sugar high afta da first quarter cuz last year was so bad wit’ da omicron variant and da state stay closed fo’ tourism till about March 26. Beginning in April, da reality stay coming back, and we comparing bookings to mo’ valid comps.” ??
Pleasant Holidays wen do good fo’ da first quarter, but May stay running flat, June stay down 7%, July stay off by 30% and August stay down by 9%. ??
Da main ting fo’ Hawaii’s summer struggles stay da high prices. Richards wen say da average price per person fo’ one Pleasant Holidays booking fo’ Hawaii stay $3,142. Dat stay mo’ expensive den da average booking fo’ Europe, wea stay $3,090. ?✈️
“In 2019 and even in 2022, Europe stay mo’ expensive den Hawaii,” Richards wen say. Da per-person price fo’ one trip to Hawaii stay double wot peopo stay payin’ fo’ go Mexico. ???
He wen say any business Mexico stay losin’ now stay going to da Caribbean. ?️?
Fo’ real kine, da six-month outlook from ARC ForwardKeys Destination Gateway Trends show bookings from all origins stay lower in April, May, June, July, and August den dey were at da same time befo’ da pandemic. Bookings stay down in all months fo’ da U.S., Japan, and Australia, but da gap stay smallah towards da lata part of summa fo’ Canada and South Korea. ??
Jeffrey Eslinger, one senior director of market insights fo’ Hawaii Tourism United States, wen present data showing dat scheduled nonstop seats from da U.S. to Hawaii fo’ dis year stay expected to be up 11.5% ova 2019. But still, from January to June, da seats stay down 2.4% from da same time in 2022, and from July to November, seats stay down 1.2%. ?✈️
Seats from Japan, which used to be Hawaii’s top international destination, stay projected fo’ be down 42.4% dis year wen compared to 2019, and da projection fo’ Australia stay off by 34.6%, and New Zealand stay down by 24.8%. Seats from Canada fo’ 2023 wen compared to 2019 stay only up by 0.2%. ????????
Eslinger wen say part of da issue stay dat airlines also stay dealing wit’ da consumer behavior changes since COVID-19. Befo’ da virus, one customer would book da flight, den da hotel, den da car, den da attractions. But now, customers from Hawaii’s top U.S. West market tend fo’ book da car, den da hotel, den da flight, o’ maybe even da attractions befo’ da flight. ???
“Air stay one of da last parts of da purchase decision, and right now cuz of dat, da airlines no stay seeing da demand even tho’ dat demand stay already existing on da books fo’ various companies in Hawaii,” he wen say, adding dat da new sequence stay creating one “chicken-or-the-egg situation.” ???
Keith Vieira, one principal of KV & Associates, Hospitality Consulting, stay worried dat Hawaii no stay marketing enough, especially afta da Hawaii Tourism Authority’s challenges fo’ awarding its top kine business, da U.S. tourism contract. Da deadline fo’ contractors fo’ submit one offa fo’ HTA’s third procurement fo’ da contract stay last Thursday. ??
Jerry Gibson, president of da Hawaii Hotel Alliance, wen say all da stops and starts wit’ da procurement process and funding stay making it hard fo’ HTA and its current U.S. marketing contractor, da Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau, fo’ hold its own against competitors like Florida, da Caribbean, and Mexico, who stay putting mo’ money into dea destinations. ??
“It stay super important fo’ us fo’ have one good summa fo’ all of us on every island,” Gibson wen say. “Maybe we stay getting lil’ bit worried early cuz da booking window stay lil’ bit shortah, but no stay shaping up like we stay hoping fo’. We know dat da Japanese business no goin’ be dea, and we wen already factor dat in. But we stay hoping dat North American travel goin’ be robust, and dat’s not wot we stay seeing at dis point.” ????
On da positive side, Vieira wen say he stay hearing dat da pace stay bettah on da neighbor islands den in Waikiki, which stay mo’ dependent on da return of international travelahs, especially from Japan. It’s normal dat performance goin’ vary across Hawaii’s islands. ?️?
Fo’ real kine, Mike White, general manager of da Kaanapali Beach Hotel on Maui, wen say da property “stay comfortably above 2019 fo’ occupancy and rate.” ??
Check out da numbas: ?
- 753,750: Numba of visitors who came to Hawaii in February ?
- 3.5%: Percentage down from February 2019, befo’ da pandemic ?
- 19.5%: Percentage up from February 2022 ?
- $1.64 billion: Total amount tourists wen spend in February ?
- $3.53 billion: Visitor spending year to date thru February ?
So da kine, Hawaii tourism stay making one strong comeback, but da summa stay uncertain. We goin’ see how da booking patterns and da visitor industry stay adapting to da changes from da pandemic. Fo’ now, we stay keeping our fingers crossed and hoping fo’ da best. ???
NOW IN ENGLISH
?? “Hawaii Tourism Remains Strong, But Summer Outlook Uncertain” ??
Hawaii’s visitor industry experienced a strong February, with arrivals recovering to 96.5% of pre-pandemic levels. The main question is whether this trend will continue through the summer. ?☀️
Over the last six months, the recovery rate has been above 90%, but February numbers are slightly lower than the highest rate since the pandemic. There were 753,750 visitors to Hawaii in February, down 3.5% from February 2019, but up 19.5% from February 2022. This is significant progress! ??♂️
Visitors to Hawaii in February spent more money than those who visited in 2022 and 2019. Visitor spending in February reached $1.64 billion, up 25% from February 2022 and 18% from February 2019. ??
In the first two months of 2023, over 1.5 million visitors arrived, 28.3% more than the 1.2 million visitors who arrived during the same time in 2022. However, total arrivals are still down 3.3% compared to the first two months of 2019. Year to date through February, visitor spending reached $3.53 billion, up 30.5% from the first two months of 2022 and up 17.6% from the same time in 2019. ??
The January and February numbers were better than many people in the Hawaii visitor industry expected, given the softness experienced in the fall and holiday season. However, market changes since the COVID-19 pandemic make it difficult to compare and predict the future. The local visitor industry hopes that by May, things will pick up and summer won’t be too bad. ??
Jack Richards, CEO of Pleasant Holidays, said that unless there is a significant change in booking patterns, this summer could be one of the slowest he’s seen in many years. ??️
Richards added that there was a “sugar high” after the first quarter because last year was so challenging with the omicron variant and the state being closed for tourism until about March 26. Beginning in April, reality is setting in and bookings are being compared to more valid benchmarks. ??
Pleasant Holidays performed well in the first quarter, but May is running flat, June is down 7%, July is off by 30%, and August is down by 9%. ??
One of the main reasons for Hawaii’s summer struggles is high prices. Richards said the average price per person for a Pleasant Holidays booking for Hawaii is $3,142. This is more expensive than the average booking for Europe, which is $3,090. ?✈️
“In 2019 and even in 2022, Europe was more expensive than Hawaii,” Richards said. The per-person price for a trip to Hawaii is double what people are paying for a trip to Mexico. ???
He said any business Mexico is losing now is going to the Caribbean. ?️?
In fact, the six-month outlook from ARC ForwardKeys Destination Gateway Trends shows bookings from all origins are lower in April, May, June, July, and August than they were at the same time before the pandemic. Bookings are down in all months for the U.S., Japan, and Australia, but the gap is smaller towards the later part of the summer for Canada and South Korea. ??
Jeffrey Eslinger, a senior director of market insights for Hawaii Tourism United States, presented data showing that scheduled nonstop seats from the U.S. to Hawaii for this year are expected to be up 11.5% over 2019. However, from January to June, the seats are down 2.4% compared to the same time in 2022, and from July to November, seats are down 1.2%. ?✈️
Seats from Japan, which used to be Hawaii’s top international destination, are projected to be down 42.4% this year compared to 2019. Projections for Australia are off by 34.6%, and New Zealand is down by 24.8%. Seats from Canada for 2023 compared to 2019 are up by only 0.2%. ????????
Eslinger said part of the issue is that airlines are also dealing with changes in consumer behavior since COVID-19. Before the virus, a customer would book the flight, then the hotel, then the car, then the attractions. But now, customers from Hawaii’s top U.S. West market tend to book the car, then the hotel, then the flight, or maybe even the attractions before the flight. ???
“Air travel is one of the last parts of the purchase decision, and right now because of that, the airlines are not seeing the demand even though that demand already exists on the books for various companies in Hawaii,” he said, adding that the new sequence is creating a “chicken-or-the-egg situation.” ???
Keith Vieira, a principal of KV & Associates, Hospitality Consulting, is concerned that Hawaii is not marketing enough, especially after the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s challenges in awarding its top business, the U.S. tourism contract. The deadline for contractors to submit an offer for HTA’s third procurement for the contract was last Thursday. ??
Jerry Gibson, president of the Hawaii Hotel Alliance, said all the stops and starts with the procurement process and funding are making it difficult for HTA and its current U.S. marketing contractor, the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau, to compete against rivals like Florida, the Caribbean, and Mexico, which are investing more in their destinations. ??
“It’s extremely important for us to have a good summer for all of us on every island,” Gibson said. “Maybe we’re getting a little worried early because the booking window is a bit shorter, but it’s not shaping up like we were hoping. We know that the Japanese business won’t be there, and we already factored that in. But we’re hoping that North American travel will be robust, and that’s not what we’re seeing at this point.” ????
On the positive side, Vieira said he is hearing that the pace is better on the neighbor islands than in Waikiki, which is more dependent on the return of international travelers, especially from Japan. It’s normal for performance to vary across Hawaii’s islands. ?️?
Indeed, Mike White, general manager of the Kaanapali Beach Hotel on Maui, said the property “is comfortably above 2019 for occupancy and rate.” ??
Here are the numbers: ?
753,750: Number of visitors who came to Hawaii in February ?
3.5%: Percentage down from February 2019, before the pandemic ?
19.5%: Percentage up from February 2022 ?
$1.64 billion: Total amount tourists spent in February ?
$3.53 billion: Visitor spending year to date through February ?
In conclusion, Hawaii tourism is experiencing a strong comeback, but the summer remains uncertain. We will see how booking patterns and the visitor industry adapt to the changes brought on by the pandemic. For now, we keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. ???
