Hawaii tourism forecast upgraded by economists

Hawaii tourism was upgraded by local economists saying that visitor arrivals would increase by 6.5% up by 2.1% meaning visitor arrivals would exceed 7.7 million by the end of the year.  The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s (DBEDT) latest report predicts economic growth for Hawaii at 2.2% this year with largest gains to be made in tourism.  Visitor spending is also expected to increase by 9% up by 2.6% from the department’s previous report.  The DBEDT bases these increases on better than expected tourism numbers in the first quarter of 2012.  This has brought optimism to the whole economy.

“We remain optimistic and confident that our economy is moving toward a more normal growth curve” said DBEDT Director Richard C. Lim. “We project that visitor arrivals in 2012 will reach another peak of more than 7.7 million visitors for the year. We also see a 46.2 percent increase in building permit values during the first quarter that should translate to new strength in the construction industry.”