Hawaii's Visitors - Where Do They Come From and How Do They Get to Hawaii?

In the next three months an expected 2.27 million visitors will arrive at Hawaii's airports from all over the world. Of these 1.6 million will arrive from the mainland United States. Over 600,000 will arrive from elsewhere in the world.

Where are Hawaii's Visitors Arriving From?

Where are all of these people coming from? The most recent report issued by the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism shows the following numbers for arrivals from September to November 2005.

• Almost 1/3 of all visitors from the mainland United States (535,000) will arrive from Los Angeles. Coming in second with 296,000 arrivals is San Francisco. Thus, over half of all visitors from the mainland United States arrive from or connecting through these two west coast cities.
• Coming in third is Chicago with approximately 87,000 arrivals over the next three months. My wife and I will be two of these arrivals as we connect through Chicago from the east coast.
• Coming in fourth is Seattle with 78,000 arrivals, but down 15% from last year.
• In the cities sending between 50,000 - 60,000 passengers to Hawaii we find Atlanta (52,234), Dallas (57,876), Las Vegas (55,820), Phoenix (52,130) and Salt Lake City (52,234). Of these arrivals from Las Vegas are up 166% from the same period in 2004 and arrivals from Atlanta and Salt Lake City are both up 100%!

Approximately 673,000 international visitors will arrive at Hawaii's airports over the next three months. Where are they coming from?

• Leading the way, by far, are visitors from Japan. Over 475,000 visitors will arrive in Hawaii from airports in Japan with 289,000 alone coming from Tokyo's Narita International Airport.
• Approximately 35,000 other visitors will arrive from two other Asian cities - 20,000 from Taipei, Taiwan and 15,000 from Seoul, South Korea.
• Hawaii will welcome approximately 56,000 visitors from Australia and New Zealand with 47,700 arriving from Sydney alone.
• The island nations of the Pacific will send approximately 54,000 visitors to Hawaii with the largest number, 22724, arriving from Guam.
• Over 52,000 visitors will arrive through Vancouver, the only Canadian airport serving Hawaii.

Leading Airlines to Hawaii

Now that we've seen where Hawaii's visitors are coming from, do you know which airlines lead the list in bringing visitors to Hawaii?

The Hawaii Tourism Authority reports that half of the air service to Hawaii for the fall season will be provided by four air carriers: United, Hawaiian, American and JAL (Japan Air Lines).

• United alone accounts for 18.3 percent of the capacity of all flights to Hawaii. In October, United will send 679 flights to Hawaii's airports with a total of 142,428 seats.
• Hawaiian will send 415 flights with a total of 95,450 seats or 12.3 percent of the total capacity of all flights to Hawaii.
• American brings 11.9 percent of Hawaii's visitors.
• JAL brings 11 percent.
• In addition to these four airlines, other airlines with significant portions of the Hawaii air market include Delta (10.3 percent), Northwest (9.8 percent), ATA (6.4 percent), Continental (6.1 percent) and Aloha (3.8 percent).

How Can You Use This Data?

These facts are interesting, but more importantly you can use them to help plan your next trip to Hawaii. Air traffic is always unpredictable - with delays caused by such things as airport congestion, labor issues and weather. The wise visitor will book his or her visit through a city that offers a better chance for a later flight should he or she miss your connection. The wise visitor will also select an airline that offers more than one or two flights to Hawaii each day.

Logic tells you that the best chance to ensure your arrival in Hawaii is to book your trip on United or Hawaiian through either Los Angeles or San Francisco. We did just that for our upcoming trip in November and when our initial flight on United from San Francisco to Kona on the Big Island was cancelled as part of a schedule change by United, we were rebooked through Los Angeles with an arrival four hours later.

This change did not allow us to meet a dinner obligation on the night of our arrival, but we were able to rebook our flight on United through Chicago and arrive in Kona within 15 minutes of our originally scheduled time.

As you can see, some basic knowledge of popular departure cities and airlines serving Hawaii can easily help you plan your trip and make smart adjustments should your original plans be changed. This technique can work for any destination you desire worldwide. A little research is well worth the time and effort.