The Hawaiian Islands welcomed 780,723 visitors in August, an all-time high for the month and a 3.1% increase over August of last year.
Total visitor spending also improved, climbing 5.2% year over year in August to more than $1.3 billion, according to preliminary estimates released by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) Sept. 30.
"Capped by these record results for August, Hawaii's tourism industry realized its best summer ever," George Szigetti, the HTA's president and CEO, said in a statement. "From June through August, Hawaii welcomed 2.4 million visitors who generated $4.16 billion in spending for businesses and communities statewide, and produced $442.7 million in state tax revenue."
Hawaii's record August arrivals totals were bolstered by year-over-year growth from its largest source market: U.S. states west of the Rockies. Arrivals increased 4.8% from the U.S. West while those from the U.S. east were up 2.8% during the month.
Meanwhile, travelers from the U.S. West spent $482 million, up 7.1%, and expenditures by visitors from the U.S. East totaled $294 million, an increase of 6.6%.
Spending by visitors from Japan, Hawaii's largest international market, was up 2% to $211 million although total Japanese visitor arrivals were basically flat year over year at 152,438.