Hawaii's tourism-related businesses reported increased revenue in 2018 and high expectations for 2019 in a recent survey of Aloha State business leaders.
While 38% of Hawaii's tourism-affiliated business reported increased profits, 35% of other businesses said the same, according to the fall 2018 Boss Survey of Hawaii business leaders. Tourism businesses were also more likely to have added staffing in 2018 than other industries. Nearly three-quarters of all tourism companies surveyed said they expected further revenue increases in 2019.
The survey is performed by the research division of the Anthology Marketing Group and published by Hawaii Business. The responses come from 350 business leaders from all sectors of Hawaii's economy, and the results from 136 business leaders who said a significant part of their companies' revenue came from the tourism sector were further broken out.
The survey, and an affiliated public poll, also asked for opinions on hot-button tourism topics, such as the number of visitors and regulations on vacation rentals. While 49% of the public on neighbor islands said short-term vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods should be restricted, just 34% of the Oahu public said the same, and 28% of business leaders agreed.
The majority of both the public and business leaders are against limiting the total number of visitors, with 83% of business leaders and 72% of the general public saying limits are a bad idea. However, while 8% of the Oahu public supported limits, 22% of the neighbor island public was in favor of capping annual arrivals.