Big Island visitor arrivals, spending down in 2019

While Big Island tourism numbers increased in June, visitor arrivals and spending in the first half of 2019 were down significantly compared to the same period a year ago.

According preliminary statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the Big Island reported $1.16 billion in visitor spending in the first six months of 2019, a 11.5% decline compared to last year, and 883,346 visitor arrivals, a decrease of 5.1%.

In June, however, Hawaii Island saw $203.2 million in visitor spending, an increase of 4.6% over June 2018, and 163,712 visitor arrivals, an increase of 9.3%.