HONOLULU -- The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau predicted a
flat year for 1998 arrivals, following a slight visitor increase
for the state in 1997.
Although the HVCB expects the U.S. market to grow by up to 2%,
it said little or no growth in Japanese arrivals and turmoil in
other parts of Asia are expected to offset that growth. Its
forecast was based on a November survey of 350 North American
travel agents, and agents and wholesalers in Japan.
The bureau expected 1997 to close with 6.87 million visitors, a
0.5% increase over 1996. However, with the average visitor stay
down, total visitor days and spending will be lower than in 1996,
it said.
The HVCB stated that the weak yen could constrain travel from
Japan, and Korea's economic crisis has resulted in travel
cancellations. HVCB also released November arrival figures:
Mainland arrivals increased 6.8%; eastbound arrivals, dominated by
Japan, increased 2.8%.
For the first 11 months of the year, Hawaii's 6.3 million
visitors were 0.5% ahead of the 1996 period, with its 3.1 million
mainland visitors up 2.7%, and its 2.6 million eastbound visitors
down 0.6%.