Visitor spending on the Big Island has been down for the first three quarters of the year, but visitor arrivals are up, according to data from the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Compared to the same period in 2018, there have been 1.7 percent more visitors to the Big Island between January and September, rising to more than 1.3 million visitors. Those visitors, however have been spending 4.5 percent less money, dropping from $1.8 to $1.7 billion.
Any growth in visitor numbers can only be attributed to Kona tourism, however. Visitors to the Kona side increased by 3.1 percent, rising to 1.17 million in the third quarter, while visitors to the Hilo side dropped by 1.7 percent to 462,000.
Air service to Hawaii Island also declined from last year, with air seats to Hilo dropping by 17 percent, thanks to a reduction in service from Los Angeles. Air seats to Kona also dropped by 1.1 percent.
Mainland visitors to Hawaii Island increased by 4.2 percent from last year, although all of that increase came from visitors from the western U.S., where visitors increased by 7.2 percent. Visitors from eastern states dropped slightly, by 0.4 percent.
While Canadian visitors increased by 2.4 percent, Japanese visitors to the Big Island are sharply down compared to last year, dropping by 12 percent.
However, in recent months, monthly spending on the Big Island has consistently trended compared with the previous year, an improvement over the beginning of the year, when post-Kilauea-eruption worries saw visitor numbers stagnate.
The third-quarter results are not unique to Hawaii Island; Kauai and Molokai also saw drops in spending, while every island save Kauai saw an increase in visitor arrivals.
