Hawaii Vacation Rental Market Update ~ June 2012

As the 1st half of 2012 is behind us, the positive momentum continues into the 2nd half of the year. June of 2012 showed an overall increase in expenditures, daily spending, arrivals, meetings, conventions and incentives along with honeymoon visitors. All areas of accommodation selection including hotels, condos, and timeshares showed positive growth, some with double digit percentage increases for the month.

Expenditures rose by 20.4%, or $207 million as compared to the previous year, an all-time record for the month of June. The month also showed an 11.5% increase in overall arrivals through the state compared to the previous year. Many of the influential major market areas contributed to that increase such as the mainland United States, Asia, Latin America, Oceania, and Japan. Europe and Canada showed positive numbers however, they were less substantial.

Daily spending per person rose by just over 10% to about $192 per day. Meetings, conventions and incentives showed an additional 30.7% increase in arrivals from last year with an overall increase of 2.6% for the first half of the year. Fewer visitors chose to get married in Hawaii however, the honeymoon sector increased by nearly 15% over that of last year. It also appears that arriving travelers decided to visit one island rather than multiple locations over that of last year. With an increase of over 11%, visitors are making more of a commitment to their chosen destination for perhaps a slightly shorter amount of time. The average length of stay did decline slightly by just under 2%.

Hotels and timeshare properties witnessed the greatest increase of 14.6% and 16.8% respectively. Condo properties saw an increase as well from last year, showing a less impressive but positive growth of 6.5%.

In respect to the Big Island, arrivals increased by nearly 8% and visitor spending increased by just over 4% to $130.8 million. Japan and Canada had the greatest arrival increase as compared to other major market areas. Each of the islands showed consistent arrival increases and most had higher earnings as compared to the previous year.

The Hawaiian Islands are certainly moving in the right direction month over month and in this case, year over year. We look forward to the continued prosperity and support shown by both domestic and international visitors, moving the Aloha State into the future with a positive outlook.