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Hawaii is in the news this week, and the news is good.

Not only did Hawaii wrap up a year that was better than good, it's poised to do as well or better in 2012.

The Aloha State finished the year with 7.3 million visitors, a 3.8% increase, and it ended on a strong note. December's arrivals were up 7.8%, and visitor spending for the month rose to a record $1.3 billion.

The achievement is all the more laudable because the gains in 2011 came in the face of a 5% decline in arrivals from Japan, the state's biggest overseas market and traditionally a primary source of big spenders. But the drop was more than offset by double-digit growth in arrivals from Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Another notable trend for 2011: Average length of stay and per-person spending per day both increased.

What could be on tap for 2012 is a flowering of business from the Eastern U.S. Hawaiian Airlines is launching nonstop service to New York on June 4, and United is adding a Honolulu-Washington Dulles nonstop three days later.

Given that Hawaii's improvements in 2011 came on relatively flat airline capacity, the boost in East Coast lift is sure to mean a boost in arrivals, and that's doubly good because mainland visitors from the East tend to stay longer and spend more per day than their Western U.S. counterparts.

Hawaii has its share of challenges, of course. Spreading the traffic to neighbor islands is a perennial task, and Allegiant will be bringing a new low-fare model to the Islands that could change the business mix. But overall, we're seeing an abundance of positive signs with no clouds on the horizon, and that's a view to celebrate.