Changes in the Tourist Flows in the Hawaiian Islands in the Period of 2005–2015

Abstract

Tourist traffic plays an important role in the development of tourism in the world. The Hawaiian Islands are one of the best developed regions, as well as regions that are most frequently visited by tourists. Changes in the spatial arrangement (layout) are determined by, on the one hand, internal and external demands, and, on the other hand, development possibilities of individual islands. The aim of this article is to establish the changes in the range of tourist flows (tourist attendance) in spatial and temporal arrangement (layout) in the field of five islands within the range of the Hawaiian Islands, namely O’ahu, Maui, Kaua’i, Moloka’i and Hawai’i. The statistical analysis was performed on the basis of the data from the Report prepared by the Hawaii Tourism Authority 2005-2016 and the data from the Bank of Hawaii. Results of the research indicate changes in tourist flows (attendance) in the years 2005-2015. According to the data, the Hawaii Islands were visited by over 7.6 million people in 2007. In 2009 the economic crisis in the US and Japan slowed the flow of tourists by over 1.1 million, and its subsequent increase was recorded a year later, as well as in the following years. The greatest tourist flows were observed on the island of O’ahu. Domestic tourists constitute over 67% of the visitors to Hawaii. The development of touristic functions of the islands is diverse and depends not only on the size of the tourist flows as well as arrival reasons, but also on the touristic management. Moreover, the characteristic features of the existing tourism in Hawaii focus on the mass scale, spatial expansion and the increase in the standard of services.