Not all visitors are the same visitor. DBEDT’s 2025 source-market data shows a mix shift that should change how operators think about marketing spend.
The 2025 mix
- US West remains the engine — the largest market, roughly four in five of them repeat visitors.
- Canada softened: about 394,000 visitors in 2025, down 11.6% on the prior year.
- Japan’s recovery stalled near half of 2019 levels — the yen makes Hawaiʻi expensive, and the market that once filled Waikīkī group tours has not returned to form.
What the mix means for your marketing
The dominant guest is a US West repeat visitor: English-speaking, books on a phone, has been here before, and knows what they want. That guest is the easiest direct booking in world tourism — if you have their email from last trip and your checkout takes four taps.
The weakened international mix also means the OTAs’ strongest argument — global reach into markets you cannot touch — matters a little less right now than it has in years.
Figures: Hawaiʻi DBEDT visitor statistics, 2025.
