Published by: John C. Derrick
Founder of HawaiiGuide & certified travel expert with 20+ years of experience in Hawaii tourism.
Hawaii Visitor & Traveler Data
Hawaii Visitors by Island 2023
If it's Hawaii tourism data you're looking for, then you're in the right place. We'll cover the latest tourism trends (within the last 1-3 years) on the Hawaiian islands and provide a series of graphics and summarized data to give you a good idea of what's happening by the numbers.
The adjacent graph shows the Total ARRIVAL Data in 2023 to each island (including multi-destination/island arrivals). You can also view our historical 2022 data graph, 2018 data graph, 2016 data graph, and 2006 data graph for comparison.
A pie chart is not truly the best format to display the visitor totals for the various islands as the number of visitors shown in the chart is greater than the true total, as many visitors go to more than one island. However, for our purposes, it should give you an idea of how many visitors (percentage-wise) are arriving/visiting each island. Just keep in mind the actual arrival numbers are "inflated" a bit. A more accurate way to look at this is 'Visitor Days,' per island, but these percentages seen here provide an accurate overview of each island's visitation.
2024-2025 Hawaii Travel Projections
General Expectations for 2024-2025
The travel projections for Hawaii in 2024 & 2025 indicate a mixed outlook with a gradual recovery expected, especially for Maui, which was heavily impacted by the wildfires in August 2023. Here are some key points:
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Visitor Numbers and Spending:
- Overall, visitor numbers to Hawaii are expected to stay relatively stable in 2024 compared to the latter half of 2023, but they may not reach pre-pandemic levels until mid-to-late-2026. The demand was initially up for 2024 before the wildfires but has since declined statewide. It may even take until 2025-2027 to recover fully from the wildfire impacts on Hawaii tourism.
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Maui:
- Maui experienced a significant drop in tourism due to the wildfires. Recovery is expected to be gradual, with a more substantial rebound anticipated in the latter half of 2024 as West Maui reopens and rebuilds (Honolulu Star-Advertiser) (Beat of Hawaii). A likely forthcoming ban on short term rentals may also impact Maui longer term.
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Economic Factors:
- The overall economic conditions, including high prices and global economic challenges, are expected to influence travel costs, potentially making Hawaii more competitive as other destinations adjust their pricing. This may help attract more visitors as travel costs could decrease (Beat of Hawaii).
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Specific Islands:
- Oahu: Expected to see stable growth with visitor numbers rising steadily. In particular, visitors from Japan have not returned in figures as projected.
- Kauai: Also showed positive growth in late 2023 with increased arrivals and a significant rise in visitor spending (Honolulu Star-Advertiser).
- Hawaii Island: In late 2023, continued to attract visitors with increased arrivals and spending (Honolulu Star-Advertiser). As of this writing, the lack of an active volcanic eruption in 2024 has also likely caused a slight decline in visitation versus when the volcano was actively erupting.
Overall, while 2024-2025 is expected to be a year of recovery for Hawaii’s tourism, particularly for Maui, it will likely be influenced by various economic factors and competitive pricing from other travel destinations.
Latest DBEDT Tourism Updates
Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism - Monthly Summary
August 2024 Visitation & Spending
August 2024 Summary Update
In August 2024, Hawaii saw a 6.4% increase in visitor arrivals (819,152 visitors) and an 11.4% increase in spending ($1.72 billion) compared to August 2023. Visitor numbers primarily came from the U.S. West and East, with significant changes from Japan and Canada.
Island-Specific Numbers:
• Oahu: 512,661 visitors, $916.0 million spent.
• Maui: 204,596 visitors, $366.0 million spent.
• Kauai: 118,608 visitors, $209.8 million spent.
• Hawaii Island: 145,101 visitors, $222.1 million spent.
July 2024 Visitation & Spending
July 2024 Summary Update
In July 2024, Hawaii saw a slight decline in visitor arrivals (925,935 visitors, -1.0%) but an increase in spending ($2.07 billion, +2.6%) compared to July 2023. Visitor arrivals primarily came from the U.S. West and East, with significant changes in numbers from Japan and Canada.
Island-Specific Numbers:
• Oahu: 565,629 visitors, $960.0 million spent.
• Maui: 237,495 visitors, $510.6 million spent.
• Kauai: 135,846 visitors, $285.9 million spent.
• Hawaii Island: 171,304 visitors, $295.6 million spent.
June 2024 Visitation & Spending
June 2024 Summary Update
In June 2024, Hawaii experienced a slight decline in both visitor arrivals (872,620 visitors, -1.9%) and spending ($1.91 billion, -4.4%) compared to June 2023. The majority of visitors came from the U.S. West and East, with notable shifts in Japanese and Canadian visitor numbers.
Island-Specific Numbers:
• Oahu: 532,915 visitors, $897.9 million spent.
• Maui: 216,065 visitors, $451.7 million spent.
• Kauai: 130,923 visitors, $265.9 million spent.
• Hawaii Island: 156,999 visitors, $283.3 million spent.
May 2024 Visitation & Spending
May 2024 Summary Update
In May 2024, Hawaii saw a decline in both visitor arrivals (763,260 visitors, -4.8%) and spending ($1.62 billion, -4.0%) compared to May 2023. Visitor arrivals were primarily from the U.S. West and East, with notable changes from Japan and Canada.
Island-Specific Numbers:
• Oahu: 473,837 visitors, $725.4 million spent.
• Maui: 179,233 visitors, $382.0 million spent.
• Kauai: 115,135 visitors, $262.1 million spent.
• Hawaii Island: 133,352 visitors, $239.7 million spent.
April 2024 Visitation & Spending
April 2024 Summary Update
In April 2024, Hawaii experienced a decline in visitor arrivals (753,551 visitors, -8.9%) and spending ($1.51 billion, -12.6%) compared to April 2023. Visitor arrivals were primarily from the U.S. West and East, with notable changes from Japan and Canada.
Island-Specific Numbers:
• Oahu: 441,685 visitors, $612.2 million spent.
• Maui: 174,582 visitors, $390.5 million spent.
• Kauai: 104,654 visitors, $222.0 million spent.
• Hawaii Island: 133,200 visitors, $254.1 million spent.
March 2024 Visitation & Spending
March 2024 Summary Update
In March 2024, Hawaii saw a decline in both visitor arrivals (855,537 visitors, -5.0%) and spending ($1.76 billion, -4.2%) compared to March 2023. Visitor arrivals were primarily from the U.S. West and East, with significant changes from Japan and Canada.
Island-Specific Numbers:
- Oahu: 502,933 visitors, $753.0 million spent.
- Maui: 206,049 visitors, $469.4 million spent.
- Kauai: 116,437 visitors, $238.1 million spent.
- Hawaii Island: 154,400 visitors, $282.1 million spent.
February 2024 Visitation & Spending
February 2024 Summary Update
In February 2024, Hawaii saw 772,480 visitors (+2.5% from February 2023) and $1.66 billion in spending (+1.2% from February 2023). The average daily visitor count was 236,008 (-3.2% from 2023) with a daily spending of $57.1 million (-2.4% from 2023).
Island-Specific Numbers:
- Oahu: 453,719 visitors, $681.1 million spent.
- Maui: 181,301 visitors, $443.1 million spent.
- Kauai: 108,825 visitors, $234.0 million spent.
- Hawaii Island: 145,188 visitors, $272.8 million spent.
January 2024 Visitation & Spending
January 2024 Summary Update
In January 2024, Hawaii saw a decline in both visitor arrivals (763,480 visitors, -3.6%) and spending ($1.81 billion, -4.5%) compared to January 2023. However, spending was up 11.9% from January 2019. Visitor arrivals were primarily from the U.S. West and East, with significant decreases from Japan and Canada.
Island-Specific Numbers:
- Oahu: 450,503 visitors, $734.0 million spent.
- Maui: 175,005 visitors, $503.8 million spent.
- Kauai: 106,048 visitors, $247.3 million spent.
- Hawaii Island: 143,033 visitors, $299.4 million spent.
December 2023 Visitation & Spending
December 2023 Update
In December 2023, Hawaii marked the fifth consecutive month with declining visitor expenditures, experiencing a slight dip in both visitor arrivals (860,831 visitors, -1.3%) and spending ($1.96 billion, -1.2%) compared to December 2022. Despite this, the overall visitor spending for 2023 showed an increase from the previous year.
Visitor Arrivals and Spending: December 2023’s visitor count represented a 90.4% recovery from pre-pandemic levels in December 2019. The majority of visitors arrived by air service from the U.S. West and East, with a notable increase in arrivals by sea.
- U.S. West and East: Visitors from these regions showed a decrease in arrivals and spending compared to the previous year, but an increase from 2019.
- Japan and Canada: There was a significant increase in visitors from Japan compared to 2022, though numbers were still lower than in 2019. Canadian visitor numbers decreased from both 2022 and 2019.
Island-Specific Numbers:
• Oahu: Received 514,345 visitors with $885.1 million spent.
• Maui: 196,402 visitors marked the highest number in five months post-wildfires, with $464.4 million spent.
• Kauai: Saw 120,290 visitors, with spending reaching $266.0 million.
• Hawaii Island: Welcomed 163,133 visitors and saw $309.5 million in spending.
The year 2023 concluded with an increase in total visitor spending to $20.78 billion, and total arrivals rose by 4.4% from 2022.
November 2023 Visitation & Spending
November 2023 Update
Visitor Arrivals and Spending: In November 2023, Hawaii experienced a slight increase in visitor arrivals but continued to see a decrease in spending compared to the previous year. A total of 731,233 visitors represented a modest 0.3 percent increase over November 2022, yet spending decreased to $1.53 billion, down 2.4 percent from the previous year.
Source of Visitors: The majority of visitors came by air service, mainly from the U.S. West and East. There was a small increase in visitors from Canada, and a significant surge from Japan compared to 2022, though numbers remained much lower than in 2019.
Key details from the Island in November 2023:
• Oahu saw a rise in visitors to 440,049 but a drop in spending to $652.9 million.
• Maui had 161,522 visitors, recovering from wildfire impacts, with spending at $375.5 million.
• Kauai hosted 106,907 visitors, with spending increasing to $212.7 million.
• Hawaii Island welcomed 135,645 visitors with spending reaching $262.7 million.
Overall, there was a year-to-date increase in total visitor spending and arrivals, with $18.82 billion in spending and 8,783,688 arrivals, indicating growth from 2022.
October 2023 Visitation & Spending
October 2023 Update
In October 2023, Hawaii continued to see a decline in both visitor arrivals and spending compared to 2022, marking the third consecutive month of downturn following the Lahaina wildfires.
Visitor Arrivals and Spending: October 2023 saw 734,582 visitors, a 3.2% decrease from October 2022, but a 92.3% recovery compared to pre-pandemic October 2019. Total visitor spending was $1.51 billion, down from $1.54 billion in October 2022 but up from $1.33 billion in October 2019.
Source of Visitors: The majority of visitors arrived by air service, primarily from the U.S. West and U.S. East. The U.S. West contributed 362,258 visitors, a decrease from 2022 but an increase from 2019. U.S. East saw a decline in arrivals compared to 2022 but an increase from 2019. Visitors from Japan increased significantly from 2022 but were much lower than in 2019. Canadian visitor numbers decreased from both 2022 and 2019.
Numbers by Island:
- Oahu: Received 448,096 visitors, a 14.7% increase from October 2022, with spending reaching $673.3 million, slightly up from the previous year.
- Maui: After the wildfires, visitation dropped to 132,909, a 42.3% decrease from 2022, and spending fell to $326.2 million, down 25.2% from the previous year.
- Kauai: Saw a stable visitor count at 109,337, virtually unchanged from 2022, but spending increased to $233.2 million, a significant rise of 34.1% from the previous year.
- Hawaii Island: Had 133,081 visitors, a 6% decrease from October 2022, with spending of $246.1 million, an 8% increase from the prior year.
September 2023 Visitation & Spending
September 2023 Update
In September 2023, Hawaii experienced a decrease in both visitor arrivals and spending compared to the same period in 2022, partly due to the aftermath of the Lahaina fires on Maui. The total number of visitors was 651,286, marking a 7.4% decrease from September 2022, yet showing an 88.5% recovery from pre-pandemic levels of September 2019. Total visitor spending was $1.37 billion, a reduction from the $1.52 billion in September 2022 but an increase from September 2019's $1.25 billion.
The majority of visitors arrived by air, predominantly from the U.S. West and East. The U.S. West sent 329,187 visitors, a decrease from 2022 but an increase from 2019. U.S. East saw 153,635 visitors, down from 2022 but up from 2019. Visitors from Japan increased significantly compared to 2022 but were much lower than 2019 numbers. Canadian visitor numbers and spending also decreased compared to 2022 and 2019.
Visitor demographics varied across the islands. Oahu welcomed 433,209 visitors, Maui received 94,221 visitors, significantly impacted by the wildfires, Kauai hosted 115,305 visitors, and Hawaii Island saw 129,444 visitors. Each island exhibited unique trends in visitor arrivals and spending, reflecting diverse attractions and visitor experiences.
The tabular chart shown further below gives the breakdown of visitors in the islands on a month by month basis (color coded per island), based on data from 2019 & 2022 visitor reports.
Visitor Days & Visitor Expenditures
In considering the "health" of the tourism market, one must also put emphasis on the two factors that are the most important: "visitor days" and "visitor expenditures."
Mahalo for the tip by 'amberloo' at TripAdvisor. In her words, "If there are more visitor days and more money being spent annually over the long-term, the industry is healthy regardless of any other factors; such as mere arrival totals. The goal of many government planners is to increase "days" and "spending" while limiting (or even decreasing) arrival counts."
Why limit arrival counts you might ask? One has to consider tourism "capacities" of the islands and how that will affect future trends. Maui and O'ahu likely reached their carrying capacity (for visitors) years ago, thus have few remaining competitive development opportunities and will not have the statistical fluctuations or upside growth potentials seen on Kaua'i. In fact, due to growth in recent years, Kaua'i has now about reached its own carrying capacity pending completion of on-going development.
Hawaiian Islands Demand
Estimated Hawaii Visitors by Month
Hawaii Visitor Graphs
Estimated Hawaii Visitor Arrivals by Month 2023 & 2022
Estimated Hawaii Visitor Arrivals by Month 2019 & 2022
Individual Hawaiian Island Data
These statistics are "arrival" data - meaning visitors who arrived in the islands (either from the mainland US, abroad, or from another island).
When viewing these statistics, we encourage visitors to keep the geographic size of the islands in mind. For example, the Big Island and Kauai have very similar trends in arrivals. However, the Big Island is significantly larger geographically speaking than Kauai (in fact, it is larger than all of the other islands combined) so these visitor numbers alone cannot tell the complete story. Kauai and the Big Island may very well have the exact same number of visitors any given month, but the size of the island will also determine how "crowded" it feels.
Big Island of Hawaii Visitor Data
The largest in the chain typically ranges between 150,000-200,000 arrivals each month. Excluding the summer "hump" felt through all the islands, the number of arrivals fluctuates much less than some other islands in the chain, so visitation is usually about the same in Hawai'i. The events we noted on the best time to travel to Hawaii page, that are held each spring and fall, can increase visitor ratios on the island. The volcanic eruptions that periodically occur are also likely to impact travel numbers to the Big Island at any given time.
Maui Visitor Data
The second largest island in the chain typically ranges between 150,000-275,000 arrivals each month. The summer "hump" is by far the largest period of arrivals, but there are also significant spikes at other times during the year, most notably around the Christmas holidays. The reopening of West Maui, excluding historic Lahaina Town following the devastating wildfires in August 2023, has positively influenced arrival numbers. Generally, however, we believe Maui visitor numbers will be recovering from large declines following the fires for an extended time.
Kauai Visitor Data
The fourth largest island in the chain typically ranges between 100,000-140,000 visitors each month. Kauai, in general, is a much quieter island (arrival wise) when compared to the likes of the other islands in the chain. But that may be due to its size and "theme" (all things green). The summer "hump" is the only really busy time on the island, though it's not as distinct as the "hump" Maui and Oahu experience. As a side note, the occasional winter and spring storms and subsequent Kauai closures will likely impact visitor arrivals after this period.
Oahu Visitor Data
The third largest island in the chain typically ranges between 450,000-560,000 visitors each month. As you can quickly see, that number significantly dwarfs the other islands' arrival data. Oahu is widely popular with visitors abroad, and given that approximately 75% of the state's population lives on this single island, the arrival data can skew accordingly. The island's diverse attractions, from the bustling city of Honolulu to the historic sites of Pearl Harbor and the scenic North Shore, continue to draw the most visitors among the Hawaiian Islands.
Typical Hawaii Visitor Timeline
Typical Visitor Planning Timeline
More Information:
Hawaii Weather page or Selecting a Hawaiian island to visit
If you want even more detailed tourism specifications, please visit the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism.
Molokai & Lanai Visitor Data
These two islands only make up slightly more than 1% of all visitor arrivals combined. If you're heading to either of these two islands and are curious about this data, we suggest you look at the detailed statistics provided on the Hawaii Tourism Authority website.
