Hawaii tourism

Hawaiʻi is a US state that is an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. Of the eight major islands, Hawaiʻi, Oʻahu, Maui, and Kauaʻi have major tourism industries, while it is limited on Molokai and Lānaʻi and access to Niihau and Kahoʻolawe is restricted.

In 2003 alone, according to state government data, there were over 6.4 million visitors to the Hawaiian Islands with expenditures of over $10.6 billion. Due to the mild year-round weather, tourist travel is popular throughout the year. The summer months and major holidays are the most popular times for outsiders to visit, however, especially when residents of the rest of the United States are looking to escape from cold, winter weather. The Japanese, with their economic and historical ties to Hawaii and the USA as well as relative geographical proximity, used to be the principal tourists but due to the collapse of the yen of 50% and the weak Japanese economy have now been surpassed by the Chinese and Koreans. The average Japanese stays only 5 days while other Asians stay over 9.5 days and spend 25% more.

2006 and 2007 saw a big increase in tourism, with over 7.6 million visitors each year.

Hawaii was first populated no later than the 2nd century CE by people of Polynesian origin, most likely from Tahiti. Subsequent Western contact began as a consequence of European Enlightenment exploration and was continued by Protestant ministers of New England origin in the early 19th century.

The first recorded western visitor to Hawaiʻi was Captain James Cook on his third and final fatal voyage in the Pacific. In 1555 Spaniard Juan Gaetano reports finding a group of islands at the same latitude as the Hawaiian Isles, but he reports the longitude incorrectly. Debate continues as to whether the Spanish visited the islands before James Cook.

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