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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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When was the last time you sent a letter? Chances are, it has been a while.

Emails, DMs and text messages have mostly replaced the old-fashioned post.

In Denmark, posting a letter in one of its iconic red mailboxes is no longer an option as the country fully embraces the digital age.

The Danish postal service has ended its national letter delivery service after 401 years.

It is the first country in the world to decide physical letters are no longer essential or economically viable.

“For the past 20 years, we’ve seen a major decline in letters in Denmark, the majority of all our communication is now electronic,” PostNord Head of Press Isabella Beck Jørgensen told the ABC.

“We are one of the most digitalised countries in the world.”

The number of letters being sent in Denmark has dropped by 90 per cent in the past 25 years.

In the year 2000, PostNord delivered nearly 1.5 billion letters. Last year, it delivered 110 million.

With fewer letters being sent, postage stamp costs have soared. Sending a standard letter in Denmark now costs $6.84 AUD.

PostNord described the decision as “difficult” but essential. Around 1,500 jobs will be cut — about a third of its workforce.

Concerns for those still reliant on the letter

The company will now focus solely on its profitable parcel delivery service, which continues to grow each year as online shopping continues to boom.

“The whole world is watching right now and I think other postal companies and operators really look at the decision we took,” Ms Jørgensen said.

“There has actually been a big understanding from the public in Denmark. Most people can’t remember when it was the last time they sent a letter themselves.”

But it has not been well received by everyone, some advocacy groups warn the shift towards digital is happening too quickly and may leave the elderly and people in remote areas behind.

“There are many who are very dependent on letters being delivered regularly,” Marlene Rishoj Cordes, from DaneAge told Denmark’s TV2.

“These include hospital appointments, vaccinations or decisions regarding home care,”

Private companies to step in

Since June, PostNord has been removing all 1,500 of its iconic red mailboxes scattered across the country.

It only took three hours for the first 1,000 of the postboxes to be sold for charity — at roughly $A472 each. Others will go to museums.

“The interest was enormous, hundreds of thousands of people tried to buy a post box when they were put on sale. We are putting 200 more up for auction next year,” Ms Jørgensen said.

PostNord will continue delivering letters to neighbouring Sweden, where the population is less digitalised.

Danes can still send a love letter or a Christmas card in 2026, but only through a private company.

They must either drop it at a shop, or pay extra to have it collected from home, which is available online or via an app.

By law, Danes must always be able to send a letter. If a private company stops delivering them, the government must step in with a new provider.

One Garden Produce & Preserves, located at Soo Market, is committed to promoting the role that fresh fruit and vegetables play in maintaining good health.

The motto of the business, co-owned and operated by the Sault’s Dani Deschatelets and Jordan Bringelson, is ‘connection and healing from the source.’

“We believe that food is medicine and we want everybody to be as healthy as possible,” Deschatelets told SooToday. “We believe that by growing everything close to home we’re healing ourselves from the inside out. That’s our goal.”

One Garden’s produce is grown in the Sault and Algoma District.

Consuming naturally produced food with no preservatives is vital, Deschatelets said.

“Generally we’re not a healthy society. There’s a lot of nasty stuff that we’re consuming on a daily basis. To be able to go back to basics and feed ourselves better is proactive and better than having to be reactive and deal with repercussions later on.”

Produce from One Garden is well preserved for sale in the winter months.

“We work with the Mennonite community in the Algoma District. They have really good areas to store our food,” Deschatelets said.

“As long as it’s staying cool and in a dark area and kept dry our root vegetables are able to last all winter long. Our carrots are cured properly in our nice dry cool area. Same thing with our squash, our potatoes, anything that’s root based.”

What’s One Garden’s most popular product?

“We sell a lot of carrots,” Deschatelets said with a smile.

Apples also rank among their hottest-selling items.

“We always get a lot of good remarks from customers that there’s just no comparing our stuff to what you get at the grocery stores. I hear that all the time. Everything here is fresh and tastes like it should.”

As a mom, Deschatelets said she enjoys bringing her son Nikola and daughter Demitri to help out at One Garden’s booth at Soo Market and educate them about the value of fresh, locally grown food.

Deschatelets said it’s also gratifying to see customers contribute to the local economy by buying from vendors such as One Garden.

“I have definitely had a few people tell me they are making intentional choices to shop locally and in Canada.”

One Garden also travels to small communities in far northern Ontario during the growing season.

“We like to provide fresh produce to those who rarely have access to farm fresh food. We like to share the goodness when we can and we want everyone to have access to fresh food,” Deschatelets said.

One Garden has been officially recognized for its commitment to providing fresh food.

Local health food stores awarded the business bronze status in Community Votes Sault Ste. Marie for 2025.

“That was quite a pleasant surprise,” Deschatelets said, adding One Garden is aiming for platinum status in 2026.

Co-owning a business in the food industry is a career change for Deschatelets.

A social worker, she stepped away from that field to spend more time with her children and partnered with Bringelson to establish One Garden in 2023.

“Jordan asked me if I would be interested in going on this adventure with her. I said ‘absolutely, let’s do it.’”

Deschatelets has found the experience rewarding.

“We’re able to connect our love of the land and good food and connect with people at Soo Market. It’s meshed together. We feed ourselves and others good things and we have our kids involved. I feel like it’s a really cool well-rounded blessing that we’ve come to enjoy.”