Not much more than a month after U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) figures showed that arrivals from Canada to the USA dropped by 10 percent from 2014 to 2015, the Hawaii Tourism Authority and the state’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism show a statewide year-to-date (through June) drop of 11.6 percent in Canadian visitors as compared to 2015. June 2016 was even worse as Hawaii experienced a decline of nearly 30 percent.
USA Arrivals from Canada
2014-2015
| Segment | 2014 | 2015 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 23,013,691 | 20,704,701 | -10% |
| Air Arrivals | 8,243,286 | 7,966,040 | -3% |
| Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, National Travel and Tourism Office |
“It’s been on the slide for quite a while,” Ross Birch, executive director of the Big Island Visitors Bureau, told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.” March was the hardest-hit month for Hawaii Island,” he said. “And then it’s just continually (down) from there.”
Statewide, Canadian visitor arrivals have been declining for nine months, a trend attributed to the weak exchange rate between Canada and the United States. The exchange rate was fairly even in 2012, but began to slide in favor of the American dollar in mid-2013.
Canadian Dollar vs. U.S. Dollar
Quick Recap
| Date | Canadian Dollar = $ |
|---|---|
| Jan. 1, 2012 | $0.98* |
| July 1,2012 | $0.98 |
| Jan. 1, 2013 | $1.01 |
| July 1,2013 | $0.95 |
| Jan. 1, 2014 | $0.94 |
| July 1,2014 | $0.94 |
| Jan. 1, 2015 | $0.86 |
| July 1,2015 | $0.80 |
| Jan. 1, 2016 | $0.72 |
| July 1,2016 | $0.78 |
| * Rounded to nearest one cent | |
| Source: Inbound Report/xe.com |
