Visitors to Hawaii spent 26.6% less in 2021 compared with 2019, according to a report from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT).
About $13 billion was spent by tourists in 2021, compared with $17.7 billion in 2019. Comparisons with 2020 are not available since the state allowed visitors from only the U.S. for most of the year.
Hawaii welcomed more than 6.8 million visitors in 2021, which was 150.3% more than the just more than 2.7 million visitors who came to the Aloha State in 2020. More than 10.3 million people visited to the state in 2019, according to the report.
Spending by visitors from the western U.S. increased by 14.1%, but visitors from the eastern U.S. spent 8.3% less, according to the report. Spending from Canadian, Japanese and other international tourists also declined in 2021 when compared with 2019.
Visitor spending was down in December 2021 when compared with 2019, according to the report. The state reported $1.6 billion in tourist spending, down 5.5% from December 2019.
“In December, the omicron variant was detected for the first time in Hawaii, which was already spreading rapidly across the country,” said Mike McCartney, DBEDT director. “The emergence of this variant resulted in the slowdown of arrivals that will likely continue through the first quarter of 2022.”
Tourists must follow the Safe Travels Hawaii Program when visiting the state. It requires proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. Those who cannot provide either must quarantine for five days.
“As long as Hawaii remains a safe destination, we can regain our momentum with visitor arrivals to recover in the second quarter of this year,” McCartney said. “We remain on target to welcoming more visitors in 2022 than we did in 2021.”
Gov. David Ige credited the 27.3% jump in tax collections in part to the “rebound in visitor arrivals.” The governor said in his budget address he could seek emergency appropriations for the Safe Travels Hawaii Program.
