Maui County tourism in August down 99%

2,433 compared to 278,345 in 2019

The drop in visitors to Maui County in the COVID-19 pandemic continued in August, with the Hawaii Tourism Authority reporting a 99 percent decrease compared to the same month last year.

The 2,433 visitors arriving in the county last month included 2,341 on Maui, 104 on Molokai and 78 on Lanai, according to preliminary data. In August 2019, the 278,345 visitors to Maui County included 273,638 on Maui, 4,860 on Molokai and 7,739 on Lanai.

While the number of visitors decreased, the average length of stay increased, nearly quadrupling from seven days in August 2019 to 27 days last month for Maui visitors.

During the same period, the average length of stay increased from three to 13 days on Molokai and from three to nearly 13 on Lanai.

Statewide, visitor arrivals were measured at 22,344 in August, compared with 926,417 during the same month last year, for a 97.6 percent decline.

During the first eight months of the year, visitor arrivals totaled 623,709 for Maui County, compared with 2,139,618 by August 2019 for a nearly 71 percent decrease. Statewide, 926,417 visitor arrivals in the first eight months of the year decreased by 69 percent to 2,201,141, compared with 7,092,809 for the same period last year.

Visitor spending numbers for August were not available.

Along with the decline in visitors, the number of seats on trans-Pacific flights to Kahului Airport decreased by 95 percent to 12,759 in August. Statewide, trans-Pacific air capacity dropped by 85.2 percent to 179,570 seats.

Except for those traveling for essential reasons, passengers arriving from out of state were subject to a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine.