Tourism industry trying to keep the pace

Growth in Hawaii’s tourism industry, which set records in 2012, is expected to continue this year and into 2014 at a much slower pace, and some in the industry might have to make price adjustments to stay on track. The Hawaii Tourism Authority forecast Thursday that the industry will bring 8.75 million visitors to Hawaii in 2014, a 3.2 percent increase over the 2013 arrivals goal.

The Hawai’i Tourism Authority opened its annual conference today, following a year of record growth. But, as HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka reports, the conference theme—“Defining the Next Chapter”—is an attempt to position the industry to withstand the next downturn in tourism.

Hawaii hotels had a strong week last week, with average daily room rates increasing 14 percent across the major islands, and occupancy increasing on all but the Big Island, according to the latest report from Hospitality Advisors LLC and Smith Travel Research.