The visitor industry in Hawaii is in a summer slumber that may not pick up any time soon.

Both the number of visitors to Hawaii and visitor expenditures continued double-digit declines for July, according to the latest statistics released yesterday by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

The total number of arrivals by air and cruise ship fell 14.1 percent last month compared to July 2007, continuing the downward slump experienced in June, when the year-over-year drop in total arrivals was at 14.2 percent, the worst drop since June 2003.

Total visitor days for air and cruise visitors last month also were down by 12.9 percent.

This slump comes during the middle of Hawaii’s peak tourism season, which typically runs from June to August.

Marsha Wienert, state tourism liaison, said that prior to June and July, Hawaii’s visitor market had managed to weather the softness felt by other travel destinations as a result of the slowing national economy.

But the July statistics mean the visitor industry is significantly impacted not only by the slowing national economy, said Wienert, but by rising fuel prices and the loss of two Norwegian Cruise Line ships.

Visitors by air dropped 13.7 percent in July, which was higher than the 13.5 percent drop in June.

Total air visitor expenditures also dropped 14.9 percent - or $177.3 million - to $1 billion in July this year compared to the same month last year. In June, air visitor expenditures dropped 13.5 percent.

Year-to-date visitor spending for the first seven months declined 5 percent to $7 billion.

All this comes on the heels of a decision by the Hawaii Tourism Authority - after hours of deliberation - to let President and Chief Executive Rex Johnson keep his job, with a reduction in pay to $200,000 from $240,000 annually.

Johnson will remain at HTA’s helm, despite getting caught using his state computer to send pornographic e-mails.

Much of the testimony in support of keeping Johnson came from those in the tourism industry who feared Hawaii’s economy would suffer further if HTA fired its top executive.

Loss of Cruise Ships Hurt

The loss of the two NCL cruise ships alone accounts for an 82.5 percent drop in total arrivals by ship. Only one out-of-state cruise ship came to Hawaii in July, bringing 657 visitors, compared to three ships that brought 3,753 visitors in July of last year.

The loss can be blamed for 83.7 percent of Kauai’s decline in arrivals, according to Wienert, and 65 percent of the Big Island’s decline in arrivals.

Year-to-date, only 52,250 visitors came by cruise ship, down 22.5 percent from the same period last year.

Nevertheless, Wienert sees the cup as half full instead of half empty.

“Even with the current challenges, our visitor industry is resilient and there is great potential in developing visitor markets,” she said

Double-digit declines

However, every U.S. mainland region showed double-digit declines in visitor arrivals this July compared to last July.

Arrivals from the U.S. West dropped 19.3 percent while arrivals from the U.S. East fell 13.8 percent.

Every island also experienced double-digit declines in air arrivals in July, with Molokai experiencing the largest drop at 31.4 percent, followed by Lanai at 28 percent, the Big Island at 24.4 percent, and Kauai at 22.6 percent. Maui experienced a 22 percent drop in air arrivals, and Oahu a 12.2 percent drop.

With lower consumer confidence, visitors in Hawaii are more cautious about spending. All islands reported lower visitor expenditures this month compared to July 2007 - they were down 27.4 percent on Maui, 28.3 percent on the Big Island, 17.8 percent on Kauai and 2.8 percent on Oahu.

Original artical here.