Oahu Arrivals Fall 7.6% in September as Hawaii Spend Drops 9%

By Nathan Snyder, Editor

Oahu visitor arrivals fell 7.6% in September to 413,341 and island visitor spending dropped 6.3% to $669.8 million, while the average daily census of visitors on Oahu sank 14.8% to 85,146, according to preliminary statistics the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism released Oct. 29 — a sharper day-count hit than the arrivals print, as statewide visitor spending fell 9.0% to $1.41 billion after Hurricanes Lowell and Nolo.

Oahu Soft on Days, Not Just Heads

DBEDT said Oahu drew 413,341 visitors in September, down 7.6% from September 2025, with visitor spending on Oahu at $669.8 million, down 6.3%. The Oahu average daily census fell 14.8% to 85,146, the agency reported — meaning fewer occupied visitor days even after the arrivals decline.

Statewide, DBEDT put preliminary September 2026 visitor spending at $1.41 billion, down 9.0% from September 2025, while arrivals fell 3.6% to 672,990. Average daily spending rose 5.4% to $283 per person, but average length of stay shortened to 7.39 days from 8.25, and the statewide average daily census fell 13.7% to 165,770.

DBEDT said Hurricane Lowell’s early-September path brought flight disruptions, port closures and heavy damage, especially on Kauai, and that late-September outer rainbands from Hurricane Nolo hampered cleanup.

Jennifer Chun, DBEDT’s director of tourism research, told Hawaii News Now: “Nobody is surprised to see that expenditures were down and visitor arrivals were down for the state. All of our major markets, U.S. West, U.S. East, Japan, Canada, everybody was down.”

Through the first nine months of 2026, Oahu arrivals were 4,275,213, down 0.2%, while Oahu visitor spending rose 5.0% to $7.46 billion, DBEDT reported. Kauai arrivals fell 35.0% to 60,224 and visitor spending dropped 44.3% to $105.4 million.

Hawaii News Now reported that Hawaii Restaurant Association CEO Sheryl Matsuoka said dining establishments across the islands are seeing sales plunge anywhere from 20% to 30%.