Christine Hitt
Visitor spending rose in the Islands for the third straight month in October, according to the latest report from the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. While the number of visitors to the Islands decreased from 771,673 last October to 749,095 this past October, those visitors spent a daily average of $277 per person, an increase of 12% per person, per day compared with October 2024.
"In October 2025, total visitor spending rose 6.7%, to $1.7 billion, despite decreased total visitor arrivals [down 2.9%] compared to a year ago. There was a slight drop in U.S. West visitors (-0.7%), which was offset by growth from the U.S. East [up 2.5%]," DBEDT director James Tokioka said in a statement.
Statistics for international visitors were mixed in October, with some improvement among Japanese visitors but significant declines from Canada. "We are encouraged to see improvement from the Japan market, which recorded $103.7 million in visitor spending (+15.5%) and a 16% increase in visitor arrivals," Tokioka said.
Sagging Canada numbers
In October, Canadian visitors were down 20.3% compared with the same month a year ago. When comparing the first 10 months of 2024 to 2025, the number of Canadian visitors are down nearly 10%, from 342,036 to 308,991.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority is doing its best to address the issue, hosting Aloha Canada events in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton, Alberta, earlier this month. More than 250 travel agents attended, the HTA said.
"Looking ahead to 2026, we plan to host a major consumer event in Vancouver, attend media marketplaces to connect with journalists and facilitate broadcast segments across Canada," an HTA spokesman added. "We also have cooperative campaigns with Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations, Costco Travel, WestJet and WestJet Vacations and Flight Centre. These campaigns emphasize Hawaii's warm, welcoming identity and help us stand apart from broader U.S. travel perceptions."
Good news for Maui
Maui has continued its recovery from the devastating wildfires of 2023, with visitor numbers to the Valley Isle up 7.6% for the first 10 months, eclipsing the 2 million mark. Overall visitor spend made an even more impressive jump during that period, increasing 12.1%, to $4.79 billion, through October.
"As we continue to face tough competition from other travel destinations, it is important that we continue to market to our key major market areas during this challenging time," Tokioka said.
UPDATED: This report was updated shortly after publication on Dec. 8 to include details on the Hawaii Tourism Authority's efforts to boost tourism numbers from Canada.