Visitors to the Hawaiian Islands spent a total of $1.39 billion in August 2017, an increase of 6.1 percent compared to August 2016, according to preliminary statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA).

Total visitor arrivals rose 4.8 percent to 818,581 visitors in August 2017, marked by growth in arrivals from both air service (+4.8% to 815,949) and cruise ships (+39.8% to 2,632).

Hawaii’s four largest visitor markets, U.S. West, U.S. East, Japan and Canada, all reported increases in visitor spending and arrivals in August 2017.

The U.S. East market reported the largest gain in visitor spending in August 2017 (+11.7% to $328.3 million) year-over-year. Daily spending (+5% to $211 per person) was higher compared to a year ago and arrivals also grew (+6.6% 159,572) supported by increased air seats from Minneapolis, Dallas and Chicago.

The Japan market continued to realize growth in visitor spending (+9.4% to $231.6 million), visitor arrivals (+5.2% to 160,424) and daily spending (+2% to $224 per person) in August 2017, boosted by the additional direct flights serving Honolulu and Kona that began in prior months.

Spending by U.S. West visitors increased in August 2017 (+1.5% to $489.9 million). Arrivals were up (+3.7% to 342,054), but a shorter length of stay (-3% to 8.51 days) resulted in marginal growth in visitor days (+0.6%). Daily spending (+0.9% to $168 per person) rose slightly versus last year.

The Canada market recorded growth in visitor spending in August 2017 (+6.2% to $51 million) compared to a year ago. Visitor arrivals increased (+6% to 29,542) but daily spending declined (-1.9% to $156 per person) from a year ago.

Combined visitor spending from All Other International markets also increased in August 2017 (+5.7% to $290.5 million), boosted by growth in arrivals (+4.6% to 124,358) and higher daily spending.

All four larger Hawaiian Islands saw growth in visitor spending and arrivals in August 2017 compared to last year.

Total air seats serving Hawaii rose in August 2017 (+3.3% to 1,096,537) year-over-year. Double-digit growth was realized in scheduled air seats from Japan (+15.6%) and U.S. East (+13.9%), with seats from Other Asia (+0.9%) and the U.S. West (+0.4%) also rising slightly. These increases entirely offset the fewer seats that came from Oceania (-3.3%).

Year-to-Date 2017

Total visitor spending increased through the first eight months of 2017 (+8.5% to $11.34 billion), bolstered by growth in arrivals (+4.7% to 6,315,435) and daily spending (+3.9% to $199 per person).

Year-to-date, U.S. West (+9.9% to $4.15 billion), U.S. East (+12.8% to $2.99 billion), Japan (+11.8% to $1.49 billion) and Canada (+8.6% to $706.2 million) have all reported growth in visitor spending compared to the same period last year.

Visitor spending from All Other International markets declined year-to-date (-1.8% to $1.98 billion), due to decreased arrivals (-2.1% to 864,074) and lower daily spending (-2.5% to $241 per person) compared to the first eight months of 2016.

Other Highlights:

• U.S. West: Visitor arrivals increased from the Pacific (+4.3%) and Mountain (+1.2%) regions in August 2017 compared to a year ago, boosted by more visitors from Utah (+11.7%), Washington (+10.4%), Colorado (+6.1%), Oregon (+5.9%) and California (+3%). Through the first eight months of 2017, arrivals rose from both the Pacific (+3%) and Mountain (+5.8%) regions.

• U.S. East: Visitor arrivals increased from all regions in August 2017, led by growth from the South Atlantic (+9.8%), Mid Atlantic (+6.7%) and East North Central (+6.6%) regions. Year-to-date, arrivals were up from all regions compared to the first eight months of 2016.

• Japan: While there was marginal growth in hotel stays (+0.7%), considerably more visitors stayed in condominium (+24.3%) and timeshare (+18.5%) properties compared to August 2016. This was the fourth consecutive month of double-digit growth for both timeshare and condominium stays.

• Canada: Significantly more visitors stayed in timeshares (+35.4%) and rental homes (+18.8%) in August 2017, while there was moderate growth in condominium (+6.2%) and hotel (+1.1%) usage compared to August 2016.

• MCI: A total of 16,749 visitors came for meetings, conventions and incentives (MCI) in August 2017, a decline of 29.2 percent from last August. Fewer visitors came for conventions (-27.3% to 7,025) and traveled on incentives (-45.3% to 5,749). Year-to-date through August 2017, the number of MCI visitors increased (+3% to 344,839) compared to the same period last year.

Highlights from All Other Markets:

• Australia: Visitor arrivals dropped slightly in August 2017 (-0.7% to 27,654) and also decreased year-to-date (-3.1% to 206,079) compared to a year ago.

• New Zealand: Visitor arrivals increased in both August 2017 (+3% to 7,201) and year-to-date (+7.2% to 43,085) versus last year.

• China: Arrivals declined for both August 2017 (-5.5% to 13,766) and year-to-date (-9.9% to 110,145) compared to the same periods in 2016.

• Korea: Visitor arrivals increased significantly in August 2017 (+15.5% to 20,783) year-over-year, and were slightly higher through the first eight months of 2017 (+0.9% to 155,499) when compared to 2016 levels.

• Taiwan: Visitor arrivals grew in both August 2017 (+5.1% to 1,722) and year-to-date (+0.7% to 12,897) compared to the same periods in 2016.

• Europe: Visitor arrivals from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland declined in August 2017 (-4.3% to 18,523) and through the first eight months (-2.8% to 91,993) versus last year.

• Latin America: Visitor arrivals from Mexico, Brazil and Argentina decreased in August 2017 (-2.6% to 1,754), and through the first eight months of 2017 (-7.3% to 16,363).