U.S. travelers came to Hawaii in significantly higher numbers than before the pandemic, making April the most recovered month for tourism since the start of COVID-19.

Some 818,268 visitors came to Hawaii in April, representing a 96.3% recovery from April 2019, according to preliminary visitor data released Thursday by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Visitors spent $1.6 billion in the islands in April, an increase of 21% compared with the $1.32 billion reported for April 2019.

On any given day in April, DBEDT reported that there were 236,835 visitors, which was actually 1.4% more visitors in the average daily census than in April 2019.

Major seat increases from airlines, which are still favoring leisure destinations at this stage of the pandemic, have greatly contributed to Hawaii’s U.S. visitor-led recovery. In April there were 5,171 trans-Pacific flights with 1,085,948 seats servicing Hawaii as compared with 5,031 flights with 1,112,200 seats in April 2019. The majority of the seat increase came from the U.S. West, which had 841,373 seats in April compared with 685,818 seats in April 2019. Seats from the U.S. East increased to 109,632 in April, compared with 91,741 seats in April 2019.

DBEDT Director Mike McCartney said April tourism gains were driven by U.S. visitors, who have surpassed 2019 levels for the past 12 months.

In April 2022, 514,878 visitors arrived by air from the U.S. West, an increase of 32.5% compared with 388,573 visitors in April 2019. U.S. West visitors spent $940.9 million in April, up 72% from $547 million in April 2019.

Average daily spending by U.S. West visitors in April was $223 per person. That was 30.4% higher than April 2019 when each visitor spent an average of $171 per day.

Some 188,868 visitors came to Hawaii from the U.S. East in April, 18.7% more than the 159,115 visitors who came in April 2019. U.S. East visitors spent $422.9 million in April, up 47.5% from $286.8 million in April 2019. Daily spending by U.S. East visitors in April hit $242 per person, up 20.9% from $200 per person in April 2019.

“Daily spending by U.S. visitors increased by 24.5 percent, which supported our communities, businesses and state tax revenues,” McCartney said in a statement.

Results varied across the islands. Oahu, which depends the most on international arrivals, was the only island where April arrivals and the average daily census of visitors were lower than in April 2019.

HTA President and CEO John De Fries indicated that U.S. travel demand for Hawaii in April helped offset continued softness from the international markets.

De Fries said in a statement, “Several international destinations across the globe remained inaccessible to U.S. travelers in the month of April, and Hawaii continued to be a preferred destination for many of those travelers from the U.S. West and U.S. East markets.”

Some 43,107 visitors arrived from Canada in April, which was 24% less than the 56,749 visitors who came in April 2019. Visitors from Canada spent $88.8 million in April 2022, a decline of 11.3% from the $100.2 million that they spent in April 2019. However, daily spending by Canadian visitors in April 2022 increased 18.1% to $182 per person from $154 in April 2019.

In April there were 56,010 visitors from “All Other International Markets,” a catchall international category that excludes Japan and Canada. That was a 44.4% drop from the 100,686 visitors who came from “All Other International Markets” in April 2019.

Only 6,749 visitors from Hawaii’s top international market, Japan, came to Hawaii in April. That was more than 94% below the 119,487 visitors who came in April 2019. Visitors from Japan spent only $15.3 million in April, compared with $164 million in April 2019.

As Hawaii moves into the summer months, De Fries said, tourism officials are “anticipating a more robust recovery of our international markets, especially Japan.”

McCartney said the state is anticipating and planning for the return of Japanese visitors in the next few months.

“The increase of tour groups from Japan will allow us to continue our pivot towards educating all visitors about Hawaii’s culture and manage our state’s resources so they can continue to remain healthy,” he said.

De Fries said that as tourism recovers, HTA will continue to work directly with communities across Hawaii to implement Destination Management Action Plans.

HTA has overseen the development of DMAPs in every county to implement steps that the community, the visitor industry and other sectors deem necessary to improve tourism over the next several years.

The Oahu DMAP was created in partnership with the City and County of Honolulu and the community. The Oahu DMAP has been published on HTA’s website, bit.ly/38Tern1.

De Fries said HTA also is working with its industry partners to reach visitors with educational messages before and after they arrive, he said.

“As tourism’s recovery continues to fuel our local economy, HTA is guided by the overarching principle of Malama Ku‘u Home — to care for our beloved home,” he said. “Remember, the cultural value of malama signifies our kamaaina way of life, and a community-wide call to action that will enhance the quality of living in Hawaii for generations to come.”