Visitor spending reached an impressive total of $8.4 billion throughout Hawaii in the first half of the year. That’s no less than an 8.7% jump compared to the first half of last year. It says quite a bit about how the American economy is faring, especially considering that Hawaii’s biggest visitor market is the US West, followed by the US East. The data comes from a recent report by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA).
According to their report, arrivals were also up 4.3% to 4,604,976 compared to the same period last year. The increase was spurred by a 4% gain in air arrivals and a 24% gain in cruise ship arrivals. If you’re thinking about buying Maui real estate, whether for your private use or as a vacation rental, these continuing upward trends could be inspiring from an investment standpoint.
Aside from the US West and East, Hawaii’s other top visitor markets are Japan and Canada. All four markets posted double-digit increases in visitor spending, which brought us to the $8.4 billion total. Daily spending, total spending and arrivals have all increased in the first half of this year, compared to the first half of 2016.
As Maui real estate specialists, we always like to check how our home island fared in comparison with the rest of the state. As Hawaii’s most desirable and expensive destination, we’re not surprised to find that visitor spending rose by 4.8% to $2.4 billion, and that arrivals increased by 3.4% to 1,360,600.
The president and CEO of the HTA, George D. Szigeti, made this statement about the visitor industry growth in the first half of the year.
“As global competition expands and diversifies giving travelers more options, the sharing of the Hawaiian culture, the warmth of our aloha spirit lifestyle and goodwill of our residents distinguishes Hawaii as a place to come enjoy and experience, in many cases, again and again. Mahalo to everyone who contributes to tourism’s vitality and the benefits it brings to communities and families statewide.”
He paints a realistic picture, which might be worth noting if you’re evaluating the prospect of a Maui real estate investment. While visitor arrivals and spending are rising, so are home and condo prices here on Maui. If you need assistance finding the right property for what you have in mind, you’ll find our contact information at the bottom of the page. We would be happy to assist you through every step of the process. Mahalo!
