Continued diversity of Hawaii’s tourism markets has resulted in more flights, but the move toward greater aircraft efficiency and a better consumer flight experience is expected to reduce the number of seats.

The good news is lift should still be strong enough to support a run for a fifth record-setting year for visitor arrivals and spending. Also, $2.5 billion in airport improvements are planned through 2021 and are expected to strengthen Hawaii’s visitor industry. By year’s end Kona International Airport will even have a temporary immigration facility to allow direct international flights to re-enter that market, which has had a hiatus since 2010 when Japan Airlines stopped its Kona run.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority expects air seats to hit 11.9 million through the end of 2016, a gain of 0.8 percent over 2015, said Daniel Nahoopii, director of tourism research for the Hawaii Tourism Authority, who spoke at an airport and airline update sponsored by the Pacific Asia Travel Association Hawaii Chapter, which met Thursday at the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki.

Nahoopii said HTA has set a 2016 visitor arrivals goal of 8.9 million, a 1.6 percent rise from the prior year. HTA also has targeted visitor spending to rise to $15.9 billion, a 3.5 percent gain over 2015. Actual arrivals for 2016 are on pace to be greater than 2015, he said.

“The positive growth in air seat capacity for 2016 will support those arrivals,” Nahoopii said.

Seats from every market but Japan are expected to rise this year. However, Nahoopii said seats for the first quarter of 2017 are expected to fall to 2.96 million, a 1.8 percent decline from 2016. Still, he said an early estimate shows that 2017 will be similar to this year, which is on pace to set more records.

Infrastructure upgrades

Hawaiian Airlines remains bullish on Japan, said Peter Ingram, chief commercial officer for Hawaiian Airlines, who also provided PATA with an airline update.

“Due to solid demand in Japan, we are growing in Tokyo,” Ingram said. “Our Haneda-Honolulu route averages a greater than 90 percent load factor.”

Ingram said Hawaiian Airlines launched daily Narita-to-Honolulu service in July. Nonstop Tokyo-to-Kona service begins Dec. 20 with three-daily Haneda flights.

“With the new additions, we will have over a 20 percent seat share in the Japan Hawaii market,” he said.

Department of Transportation Deputy Director Ross Higashi, who also spoke at the PATA event, said the state is “feverishly moving” to upgrade its existing international arrivals building at Kona International Airport so that it meets U.S. Customs and Border Patrol standards in time to support Hawaiian Airlines’ new direct international service.

“We are trying to get it ready by November,” Higashi said.

Higashi expects construction on a permanent International Arrivals Building in Kailua-Kona to start in January and run through June 2018.

He said conceptual planning also is underway to move the commuter terminal at Honolulu Airport to the Diamond Head side before the end of the year to make way for an improved mauka concourse, which would increase gate capacity to accommodate six wide-body or 11 narrow-body aircraft. Construction of the $245 million project is expected to start in April and run through August 2019.

Dave Erdman, president and CEO of PacRim Marketing Group Inc. & PRTech LLC, said the robust and necessary airport infrastructure upgrades will enhance guests’ arrival and departure experience across the isles.

“We look forward to the airports division and the private sector integrating efforts to improve not just transportation innovation, but also hospitality enhancements for Hawaii’s global traveler,” Erdman said. “We are very excited about the launch of Hawaiian Airlines’ new direct Kona service from Haneda, and thank the Hawaii DOT airports division for all of the coordination and collaboration to support the new flight and ensure we appropriately welcome … our international visitors from Japan and Asia.”