Hawaii Tourism Spending Tops $1 Billion in February, Up 10%

Visitor spending across Hawaii surged to $1.91 billion in February 2026, a 10.3 percent jump over the same month last year, as the state posted its strongest back-to-back tourism months since before the pandemic. Preliminary figures from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism showed 787,024 visitors arrived statewide, up 3.6 percent from 759,679 in February 2025.

The gap between spending growth and arrival growth tells the deeper story: visitors are arriving in modestly higher numbers but leaving considerably more money behind. The average length of stay actually fell slightly, from 8.87 days in February 2025 to 8.69 days this year, meaning each visitor packed more activity and spending into a shorter trip. The statewide daily visitor census held at 244,231, up 1.5 percent year over year.

February's gains followed an even stronger January, when spending surged 19 percent and arrivals jumped 10.4 percent. Combined, the first two months of 2026 delivered $4.17 billion in visitor spending, up 14.8 percent from $3.63 billion over the same stretch last year, with 1.66 million total arrivals, an increase of 7.1 percent.

Air capacity drove much of the volume: 4,860 transpacific flights carrying 1,072,409 seats reached the islands in February, an 8.4 percent increase in flights and 7.9 percent more seats than February 2025. Demand ran almost entirely from U.S. West and U.S. East markets. Canadian arrivals fell 4.6 percent, attributed to what officials called "social and political challenges."

Two and a half years after the August 2023 wildfires, Maui recorded the strongest county gains, with 223,227 visitors, up 11.5 percent, and $571.5 million in spending, up 6.8 percent compared to February 2025.

For the Big Island, the February numbers arrive against a complicated backdrop. The strong statewide results came before two back-to-back Kona Low storms struck in March, triggering flooding, road closures, and a wave of trip cancellations along the Kona coast and Hilo corridors. Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism Director James Kunane Tokioka said the department is monitoring how the recent Kona Low storms might affect March figures. Forward bookings for spring and summer softened in the storms' wake, according to industry analysts.

State Sen. Linda DeCoite, chair of the Senate's tourism committee, framed February's headline numbers with a caution that resonates on an island still tallying storm costs. "It's not only about visitor arrivals," DeCoite said at the Hawaii Tourism Authority's Spring Tourism Update on April 1, "but about ensuring that tourism supports local communities, respects our resources and reflects the values of Hawaii."

The February results, measured in nominal dollars without inflation adjustment, mark Hawaii's best spending start to a year since the post-pandemic rebound. Whether that momentum carries through spring will depend, in part, on how quickly the Big Island's Kona and Hilo corridors recover from the damage March left behind.