Visitor spending in Hawaii increased in December 2025, despite a decline in the number of visitors, according to preliminary statistics from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT). Total visitor spending reached $2.12 billion, a 3.7 percent rise compared to December 2024. This increase was attributed to higher average daily spending per visitor ($273 per person, up 11 percent), which offset a 4.3 percent drop in total arrivals to 868,894.
Most visitors arrived by air—850,263 people—primarily from the U.S. West and U.S. East regions. An additional 18,631 visitors came via out-of-state cruise ships. Compared with December 2024, there were fewer arrivals by air but a slight increase in cruise ship passengers.
The average length of stay for all visitors shortened slightly to 8.92 days from 9.14 days the previous year. The statewide average daily census showed about 249,958 visitors present on any given day during December, representing a decrease from the same period last year.
Visitors from the U.S. West numbered 432,477—a decline of nearly five percent compared to December last year—but these travelers stayed longer and spent more each day across lodging, food and beverage, and transportation categories. Their total spending grew to $1.04 billion (an increase of over eleven percent).
Arrivals from the U.S. East rose by about three percent to just over 235,000 visitors in December; their total spending also climbed ten percent year-over-year to $663 million due largely to increased daily expenditures.
Japanese visitor numbers grew eight percent with nearly 72,000 arrivals; they spent $104.9 million during their stays—an eight-percent increase—with slightly higher daily spending than last year.
Canadian arrivals dropped sharply by fourteen percent compared with December last year; corresponding total spending fell as well despite similar lodging expenses and minor changes in other categories.
Other international markets sent around 64,000 visitors—a significant decrease compared with more than eighty-five thousand the previous December.
Air capacity expanded moderately with increases both in flights and available seats serving Hawaii during the month.
For calendar year totals: Hawaii welcomed just under 9.65 million visitors throughout all of 2025—a marginal decline from the previous year’s figures—while overall visitor spending for the year rose by nearly six percent to reach $21.75 billion.
James Kunane Tokioka, DBEDT Director stated: “In December 2025, despite fewer total visitors (-4.3%) compared to last December, visitors spent more on a daily basis, resulting in 3.7 percent growth in total visitor spending to $2.12 billion.” He added that increased daily spending on lodging and food among U.S West and East travelers contributed significantly to this trend.
Two major events were highlighted as drivers for tourism activity: The Honolulu Marathon brought nearly forty-two thousand participants—including twelve thousand runners from Japan—and helped boost Japanese visitation numbers and related expenditures; meanwhile Pacifichem’s International Congress at Hawai‘i Convention Center attracted close to ten thousand attendees mid-month before upcoming renovations will temporarily halt citywide conferences at that venue until January 2028.
Looking at full-year trends for major source markets: Arrivals from the U.S West were stable while visitor spending increased nine percent; similarly both arrival numbers and expenditures grew among U.S East travelers during calendar year 2025.
