Hawaii tourism continues blistering pace in April
Visitor arrivals and spending to the Hawaiian islands increased for the 11th straight month in April, keeping Hawaii on track for its sixth year in a row of record tourism.
In April, visitors to Hawaii rose to 752,964, an 8 percent year-over-year gain, according to preliminary data released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Visitor spending also grew 9 percent from April of 2016 to $1.3 billion.
April was a better month than expected, with the Easter holiday and Golden Week in Japan contributing to increased travel demand. Visitor spending statewide grew 9 percent over last year, fueled by the strong performance of Hawaiis core markets, U.S. West, U.S. East, Japan and Canada, HTA president and CEO George Szigeti said in a statement. The economies of Hawaiis four major islands felt the positive impact of these results, highlighted by Maui, Kauai and the island of Hawaii all reporting double-digit growth in visitor spending.
Spending from U.S. West visitors, Hawaiis top market, rose 17 percent in April to $490 million, while arrivals grew 9 percent to 321,877. Visitors from the U.S. East spent $299 million, up 12 percent from the prior year. U.S. East arrivals increased 11 percent to 147,532.
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