Domestic arrivals to Maui in late summer remain strong | News, Sports, Jobs

Travelers go through the car rental facility at Kahului Airport in August. Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

While the total number of arrivals to Maui in August was just below pre-pandemic levels, domestic travelers to Maui topped 2019 figures for the second month in a row, according to data from a report by Status published last week.

Overall, there were 232,208 visitors to Maui in August 2021 compared to 273,638 visitors in August 2019, according to preliminary visitor statistics from the State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

However, domestic arrivals reached 206,322 in August, up from 196,735 during the same period in 2019, which was a record year for arrivals to Hawaii, according to DBEDT data. August’s strong domestic arrivals for Maui follow the Valley Island national arrivals record of 286,851 set in July of this year.

For Maui in August, visitor spending was $ 389.1 million, down 3.9% from the $ 404.7 million spent in August 2019.

The average daily census in Maui was 60,187 visitors in August 2021 compared to 64,553 visitors in August 2019.

A recent report from the University of Hawaii’s Economic Research Organization, however, said that since the July national summits, visitors have delayed vacations to Hawaii due to the increase in COVID-19 cases. and new mitigation measures adopted by the State.

“After the surge in COVID-19 cases, the number of visitors has dropped sharply, due to virus issues, new preventative measures and Governor Ige’s request for visitors to delay vacations in Hawaii,” says the report.

The rebound in tourism since travel reopened in October last year has been mainly driven by US travelers, with international visitors largely missing from typical visitor data. UHERO predicts that international visitors will start returning in 2022 and reach more than half of their pre-pandemic level by the middle of next year.

Typically, the counties of Maui and Kauai receive more domestic travelers than Oahu and the Island of Hawaii, which receive more international visitors.

Jennifer Chun, director of tourism research at DBEDT, said during a presentation by the Hawaii Tourism Authority on Friday that while there are fewer non-stop air seats to Hawaii, national seats have increased in all counties, according to recent data.

While available air seats do not guarantee that they will be sold at a later date, domestic seats to Kahului were 308,108 in August compared to 248,915 in 2019; 271,361 in September compared to 197,711 in 2019; and 277,397 in October compared to 211,816 in 2019.

Regular non-stop international seats to Kahului are 22,694 in November compared to 21,780 in November 2019, largely due to the return of the Canadian market, Chun noted. In December, the international seats in Kahului were 33,104, compared to 26,938 in the same period in 2019.

DBEDT Director Mike McCartney also highlighted in a press release the return of trips to Canada.

“We are pleased to see flights from Canada increase significantly in August (from two flights in July to 36 flights in August) due to the resumption of Air Canada flights from Vancouver to Oahu and Maui,” he said. “The number of visitors from Canada reached 6,154 in August and was the highest since the outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020.”

While Hawaii is yet to reach 2019 visitor and spending levels, McCartney noted that the recovery in August is 78% in terms of arrivals and around 91% in terms of visitor spending per report to August 2019.

Visitors to August stayed longer (9.07 vs. 8.46 days) and spent more per person per day (208.9 vs. 191.7) compared to the same month in 2019, he said. declared.

UHERO’s baseline forecast takes into account the negative economic impacts of the delta variant and its restrictions until the fall. The pessimistic scenario predicts that the fallout could last much longer. An optimistic scenario points to a solid winter season, driven by pent-up demand.

The DBEDT, meanwhile, expects a slowdown in tourism in September and October, but said in the statement that the recovery would accelerate in November.

“The easing of restrictions on international travel by the federal government which will take effect in November will help attract more international visitors to our state,” he added. McCartney said in the statement.

HTA President and CEO John De Fries said August showed spending and visitor arrivals continuing to improve steadily on the strength of the domestic travel market.

“However, until the international travel market returns, Hawaii will not meet the pre-pandemic levels of higher visitor spending that are critical to the state’s economy,” he added. he said in the statement. “It’s also important to remember that the recovery in tourism is non-linear, meaning it comes and goes, and a slowdown is predicted for the traditionally slower fall shoulder season.”

* Kehaulani Cerizo can be contacted at [email protected].

The latest news today and more in your inbox