Statewide Visitor Accommodations Inventory Increased 1.3 Percent in 2007
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For Immediate Release: June 10, 2008
DBEDT Release News 08-13
HONOLULU--According to the 2007 Visitor Plant Inventory ("VPI") report released today by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism Research & Economic Analysis Division, the number of visitor accommodation units statewide in 2007 increased by 1.3 percent from 2006 to 73,220 total units.
At the time this survey was taken, May 2007, nearly all counties reported increases in visitor accommodations due, in part, to Internet searches which yielded visitor units not included in previous surveys.
O'ahu reported a slight decrease of .1 percent to 33,588 units, due largely to Waikiki units being renovated and temporarily removed from the visitor supply. Kaua'i had the largest percentage increase of 5.2 percent to 8,692 units, with individual vacation units ("IVU") increasing by 820 units. County of Maui visitor inventory increased by 1.6 percent to 19,879, driven by new timeshare units opening in Ka'anapali. The Big Island of Hawai'i reported an increase of 2.1 percent to 11,061 visitor units.
"The Visitor Plant Inventory Report provides the most comprehensive list available of visitor accommodations in the state. Several changes were instituted this year that makes this report more effective. These improvements will provide a more accurate count of visitor properties and units which will be useful in the supply-side analysis of Hawai'i's visitor industry. We greatly appreciate and encourage continued participation from all visitor properties in this important study," said State Tourism Liaison, Marsha Wienert.
| Island | Number of Properties |
Percentage Change 2007 vs. 2006 |
Number of Units |
Percentage Change 2007 vs. 2006 |
| O‘ahu | 223 | 4.7% | 33,588 | -0.1% |
| Hawai'i | 290 | 12.8% | 11,061 | 2.1% |
| Kaua'i | 843 | 102.2% | 8,692 | 5.2% |
| Maui | 387 | 9.0% | 19,216 | 2.6% |
| Moloka'i | 28 | -15.2% | 309 | -35.8% |
| Lana'i | 6 | 0% | 354 | -3.5% |
| Statewide | 1,777 | 38.7% | 73,220 | 1.3% |
| Source: State of Hawai'i Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and Hospitality Advisors LLC | ||||
Hotels continued to comprise the majority (58.2 percent) of visitor units statewide, but decreased slightly in 2007 (-1.7%), due to units taken out of service for renovation and property closures such as Mauna Kea Beach Hotel (as a result of damage from the October 2006 earthquake) and Waikiki Hana Hotel (converted to student housing).
Timeshare units grew by 1,405 units, 21.3 percent higher than 2006 and driven by new purpose-built developments. Condominium hotels decreased by 2,588 units in 2007, primarily due to reclassification of units to IVU. IVUs increased by 146.5 percent to 5,786 units due to a combination of unit reclassifications and enhanced research methodology (see Technical Notes).
| Type | 2007 Units | 2006 Units | Change
From 2006 |
% Change
From 2006 |
| Apartment/Hotel | 261 | 347 | -86 | -24.8% |
| Bed & Breakfast | 627 | 596 | 31 | 5.2% |
| Condominium Hotel | 14,886 | 17,474 | -2,588 | -14.8% |
| Hostel | 439 | 342 | 97 | 28.4% |
| Hotel | 42,585 | 43,305 | -720 | -1.7% |
| Individual Vacation Unit | 5,786 | 2,347 | 3,439 | 146.5% |
| Timeshare | 7,997 | 6,592 | 1,405 | 21.3% |
| Other | 639 | 1,271 | -632 | -49.7% |
| State Total | 73,220 | 72,274 | 946 | 1.3% |
| Source: State of Hawai'i Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and Hospitality Advisors LLC | ||||
Technical Notes:
The 2007 VPI report was prepared by Hospitality Advisors LLC with assistance from the University of Hawai'i School of Travel Industry Management.
The VPI presents results from a survey of visitor units as of May 2007 with data categorized by type of property, class of units, distribution by island and planned developments. May is the month chosen as the benchmark for comparison purposes with previous Visitor Plant Inventory reports.
Several changes were instituted this year that makes this report more effective. In researching the 2007 report, additional information was discovered that warranted revisions to previous visitor accommodations inventory data.
The following changes were implemented in the 2007 VPI report:
- Responses from selected hotels, condominium hotels and timeshare properties were cross verified against Smith Travel Research property database and data from the American Resort Development Association.
- Classification of property type (Tables 2 & 4 in the 2007 VPI report) for properties with more than one unit type was determined by the majority of units on that property. Historically property type was self-selected by the respondent but research has shown that the response was not always consistent with DBEDT's type definitions. Property and unit type corrections were made for all properties in 2007, but only for significant properties in 2006.
- 2007 Current Visitor Plant Inventory details the multiple unit types available on each property.
- Total unit counts were corrected for 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 data. However, to the best of our ability, the data remain comparable to reports from previous years.
The 2007 Visitor Plant Inventory report is available in Adobe Acrobat format on the DBEDT Web Site: www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/visitor-stats
A limited number of printed copies will be available for in-person pick up only, after June 20, 2008:
DBEDT - Research & Economic Analysis Division
One Capitol District Building
250 South Hotel Street, 4th Floor, Diamond Head Wing
Honolulu, Hawai'i 96813
For further information on the reports, contact the DBEDT's Research and Economic Analysis Division at 586-2466.
For more information, contact:
Dave Young
Communications
Phone: (808) 587-1212
Email: dyoung@dbedt.hawaii.gov
Marsha Wienert, Tourism Liaison
Phone: (808) 586-2362
Email: marsha.wienert@hawaii.gov