Mike McCartney, director of Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), said last week that tourism in Hawaii has rebounded to the highest rate since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Preliminary visitor statistics put out by DBEDT show 818,268 visitors to the Hawaiian islands in April 2022, a 96.3% recovery from the last pre-pandemic April in 2019.
"Continuing to remain vigilant by protecting ourselves and our communities from COVID as the case counts continue to rise is paramount," McCartney said in the DBEDT release. "If we work toward a regenerative next level of sustainability stewardship [and] having the privilege of taking care of Hawaii's model, we can achieve healthy and vibrant communities, businesses and industries that support an enviable living in Hawaii."
In all visitors spent $1.6 billion in the islands in April 2022, an increase of 21% compared to $1.32 billion reported for April 2019, according to the release. During the opening four months of 2022, total visitor spending was $5.83 billion, up slightly (0.3%) from $5.81 billion in the first four months of 2019, as a total 2,812,030 visitors came to the island, the release said.