Summer travelers give boost to Hawaii economy

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – AAA reports a record number of travelers nationwide this holiday week — meaning a busy week for Hawaii’s airports and a much-needed boost to the economy,

At Daniel K Inouye International Airport, many travelers arrived from the continental U.S., taking advantage of the mid-week holiday.

“Because it was landed… on Thursday, and then everyone wants to take a long weekend,” said Hardeep Riar, who is visiting from California.

“Why not? Fourth of July in Hawaii. We want to see the fireworks,” said Cerjio Aceves, also from California. “First time ever here. And God just brought us here today. And it’s good.”

“We hadn’t seen anything outside of the continental United States and oldest daughter had seen some stuff on Hawaii and had some itching for it. The whole family hadn’t been here and decided to make the trip out here,” said Andy Degenhardt, visiting from Port Washington, Wisconsin.

More travelers means more spending on local restaurants, shopping and excursions, fueling recovery for the state.

The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism says about 77% of visitors so far this year are from the continental U.S. — higher than prepandemic levels — and the major driver of Hawaii’s recovery.

So while the first five months of 2024 showed a decline in arrivals and tourist spending mainly due to the Maui wildfires — that’s improving due to summer travel — and is up 2.4%.

“We do see Kauai County and Hawaii County are doing better. But Maui and Oahu are lagging. Maui is mainly because of the wildfire but Oahu is mainly because of the Japanese recovery is lagging,” said chief state economist Eugene Tian.

“Our current forecast may take up to 2027 for full recovery, which means that we will get about 10.3 million visitors,” he added. “The recovery will be accelerated starting in this summer, going into fall.”

DBEDT says Japanese visitors are coming back — with recovery at about 44% — but at a slow pace due to the weak yen.

For now, domestic travelers are bridging the gap.

The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen more than 32 million air travelers nationwide this week — a record high.

Hawaii airports expect a 20% jump in volumes.

So if you’re planning to travel this week — plan ahead and get to the airport early.

Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.