DBEDT NEWS RELEASE: Visitor Spending Increased in November 2025 Despite Fewer Visitor Arrivals
Posted on Dec 30, 2025 in Latest Department News, Newsroom
STATE OF HAWAIʻI
KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI
JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR
KE KIAʻĀINA
DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM
KA ʻOIHANA HOʻOMOHALA PĀʻOIHANA, ʻIMI WAIWAI A HOʻOMĀKAʻIKAʻI
RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS DIVISION
JAMES KUNANE TOKIOKA
DIRECTOR
KA LUNA HOʻOKELE
VISITOR SPENDING INCREASED IN NOVEMBER 2025 DESPITE FEWER VISITOR ARRIVALS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 30, 2025
HONOLULU – According to preliminary statistics from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), total spending by visitors in November 2025 was $1.77 billion (measured in nominal dollars), up 15.9 percent compared to November 2024. Visitors in November 2025 spent more on an average daily basis ($271 per person, +15.2%) which offset a 3.6 percent decrease in total arrivals to 736,831 visitors.
In November 2025, 728,072 visitors arrived by air service to the Hawaiian Islands, mainly from the U.S. West and U.S. East. Additionally, 8,760 visitors arrived via out-of-state cruise ships. In comparison, 755,784 visitors (-3.7%) arrived by air and 8,271 visitors (+5.9%) came by out-of-state cruise ships in November 2024.
The average length of stay by total visitors in November 2025 was 8.85 days, which was longer compared to November 2024 (8.49 days, +4.3%). The statewide average daily census was 217,412 visitors in November 2025 compared to 216,109 visitors (+0.6%) in November 2024.
In November 2025, 402,840 visitors arrived from the U.S. West, a 2.4 percent decrease from November 2024 (412,957 visitors). Although there were fewer U.S. West visitors in November 2025, they spent more on an average daily basis, resulting in higher total spending ($901.0 million) compared to November 2024 ($728.0 million, +23.8%). Daily spending by U.S. West visitors in November 2025 rose to $260 per person compared $215 per person (+20.6%) in November 2024.
There were 168,386 visitors from the U.S. East in November 2025, up 3.1 percent compared to November 2024 (163,246 visitors). U.S. East visitors in November 2025 also spent more per day, contributing to higher total spending ($515.9 million) than in November 2024 ($408.0 million, +26.5%). Daily spending by U.S. East visitors increased to $311 per person in November 2025 compared to $271 per person (+14.7%) in November 2024.
In November 2025, 58,216 visitors arrived from Japan, growth of 4.2 percent from November 2024 (55,869 visitors). Visitors from Japan spent $83.0 million in November 2025 compared to $81.7 million (+1.6%) in November 2024. Daily spending by Japanese visitors in November 2025 ($248 per person) decreased slightly compared to November 2024 ($252 per person, -1.6%), due to lower spending on shopping, food, entertainment and recreation.
In November 2025, 38,721 visitors arrived from Canada, down 22.2 percent from November 2024 (49,746 visitors). Visitors from Canada spent $94.8 million in November 2025 compared to $122.1 million (-22.3%) in November 2024. Daily spending by Canadian visitors in November 2025 ($226 per person) was slightly more than November 2024 ($224 per person, +0.8%).
There were 59,909 visitors from all other international markets in November 2025, which included visitors from Oceania, Other Asia, Europe, Latin America, Guam, the Philippines, the Pacific Islands and other countries. In comparison, there were 73,966 visitors (-19.0%) from all other international markets in November 2024.
Air capacity to Hawai‘i in November 2025 (4,792 transpacific flights with 1,059,378 seats) dropped slightly compared to November 2024 (4,795 flights, -0.1% with 1,061,794 seats, -0.2%).
Year-to-Date 2025
A total of 8,774,096 visitors arrived in the first 11 months of 2025, down slightly (-0.2%) from 8,793,885 visitors in the first 11 months of 2024.
In the first 11 months of 2025, total visitor spending was $19.64 billion, which was an increase from $18.54 billion (+5.9%) in the first 11 months of 2024.
VIEW FULL NEWS RELEASE AND TABLES
Statement by DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka
In November 2025, total visitor spending increased 15.9 percent to $1.77 billion. Even though there were fewer total visitors (-3.6%) than a year ago, these visitors stayed longer and spent more on a daily basis.
Both U.S. West and U.S. East markets recorded growth in visitor spending (U.S West, +23.8%; U.S. East, +26.5%) and in visitor days (U.S West, +2.6%; U.S East, +10.3%) compared to November 2024.
The Canadian market continued to be impacted by economic and political uncertainty and recorded decreased visitor spending (-22.3%) and visitor arrivals (-22.2%) in November 2025.
We are encouraged to see continued improvement from Japan, which recorded a 4.2 percent increase in visitor arrivals and $83.0 million in visitor spending (+1.6%) for November 2025. This marked the third month of consecutive increases in both categories.
Similar to the rest of the country, Hawai‘i has seen growth from Korean visitors. Arrivals (15,271 visitors, +38.4%) and total visitor spending ($39.1 million, +38.2%) from this market was very strong in November 2025 compared to the same month last year. For the first 11 months of 2025, arrivals from Korea rose 7.1 percent to 147,070 visitors while total spending increased 4.7 percent to $382.9 million.
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