According to initial figures from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), Hawai‘i saw an increase in visitor numbers and spending in February 2025. The average daily visitor count reached 240,525, marking a 1.9% rise from February 2024. However, it was still 2.5% lower than the pre-pandemic level in February 2019. The total spending by visitors was recorded at $61.7 million per day, which reflects an 8.0% increase from the previous year and a significant 24.4% rise compared to February 2019.
February 2024 was a leap year, leading to a statistical adjustment by using average daily measures to facilitate an appropriate comparison with February 2025 data.
Breaking down visitor origins, the U.S. West showed a daily average of 111,573 visitors, up 2.7% from 2024 and 15.2% from 2019. Their spending reached $28.3 million per day, a 13.1% increase from 2024 and 58.8% above 2019 values.
For U.S. East visitors, the numbers also rose, recording a daily average of 69,151, which is a 7.4% increase from February 2024 and a 9.0% rise since 2019. Spending for this group was $19.3 million per day, up 14.7% from the previous year and 45.1% from 2019.
There was a decline in visitors from Japan, with the average daily census at 9,992, down 14.5% from 2024 and 59.1% from 2019. Japanese visitors' spending fell to $2.4 million per day, a 14.1% decrease from 2024 and a 58.8% drop from 2019.
Canadian visitor rates also dropped slightly to a daily average of 20,686, which is a 1.4% dip from 2024 and 30.4% compared to 2019. Despite this, their spending increased by 6.2% from 2024, reaching $5.0 million per day, though it is still 8.7% lower than 2019.
Visitors from other international markets declined to 25,841 per day, a 4.9% fall from 2024 and a 13.7% decrease from 2019.
Out-of-state cruise ship passengers rose slightly, with a daily average of 3,283 visitors, a 4.1% rise over 2024 and a 41.4% increase from 2019.
Flight service to Hawai‘i saw 994,193 seats over 4,475 transpacific flights, averaging 160 flights and 35,507 seats per day. This was a decrease in comparison to February 2024 and February 2019 figures.
DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka stated, “For February 2025, average daily visitor spending at $256.40 per visitor was the highest level historically in nominal terms.” He added reassurance on Canadian market stability, noting, “At this time, we do not see flight cancellations from Air Canada or WestJet.”
Also mentioned was the positive trend in visitors from the continental U.S., marking a 1.2% increase compared to the previous February. Tokioka expressed optimism in the U.S. East market's performance for the year.