Average daily spending by cruise visitors up 17%

[Jason]

Average daily spending by cruise visitors up 17%

By Kelly Yamanouchi, Advertiser Staff Writer

Tourists coming to Hawai'i for cruises spent $38.1 million in the Islands in the first three months of the year for an average of $105 per day per visitor.

Spending by cruise visitors excludes the cost of the cruise itself and on-board spending. It includes tours, lodging before and after the cruise, shopping and other on-shore spending.

The average daily spending by cruise visitors was up 17 percent from $90 in the first quarter of 2003. The average daily spending by all visitors for the first quarter of this year was $160.

"We're really happy to see that (cruise) spending is increasing," said Marsha Wienert, Gov. Linda Lingle's tourism liaison. The cruise visitor survey helps to show the economic impact of the cruise industry, she said.

Cruise visitors accounted for 3.1 percent of all visitors to Hawai'i in the first quarter of 2004, according to the figures from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Nearly 60 percent of them also stayed in hotels in the Islands.

In the first quarter, 50,349 cruise visitors came to Hawai'i, down 18 percent from the same period last year. That led to a 3.9 percent drop in total cruise visitor expenditures.

The number of tours cruise ships took in Hawai'i fell to 33 from 36 in the same period of 2003. Only one ship was home-ported in Hawai'i instead of two in the first quarter of last year, and several ships were smaller.

Cruise business is set to get a boost from the addition of a Norwegian Cruise Line ship starting interisland cruises in July.

"It's going to be a whole other ballgame because we are going to have another home-ported ship," Wienert said.

Most of the visitors coming to Hawai'i for cruises are from the Eastern region of the Mainland. Nearly a quarter are from the U.S. West region and the rest are from other markets.

The survey also showed more locals are touring Hawai'i by cruise ship. About 1,487 Hawai'i residents took cruises in the first three months of 2004, up more than 57 percent from the same period a year ago. They spent an average of $45 per person per day while away from the ship.

[TheSkipper]

Well Jason, I guess Roe and I will do our best to keep up the average in December. We will cruising roundtrip from San Diego aboard the Infinity. This will be our first cruise to Hawaii, in the past we have simply flown over.