Over the past year, there has been an overall increase in the number of visitors and length of stay to the State of Hawaii through November of 2011. Major markets such as Canada, Oceania, and various Asian countries have increased their travel to the state, increasing the overall average. Much of the increase is due to added flight operations from countries such as China, Korea, Japan, Canada and Oceania direct to Honolulu. The Hawaii Tourism Authority’s Airlift Development Program, a cooperative airline program geared to bring more guests to Hawaii, has done a great job sustaining routes and encouraging new ones.
One of largest contributing markets is Canada, showing nearly double digit increases month over month from 2010. Much of this can be attributed to a stable Canadian economy, increased awareness and overall stronger marketing. On average, Canadian arrivals have increased over 20% since last year while some US markets have remained flat.
Compared to 2010, 2011 tourism has increased almost 7% as a whole and the length of stay has increased nearly 1%. The numbers may be a bit higher when the actual vs. projected arrivals for December 2011 are reported and available through the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
