Tourism

[Guest]

Figured I open a new thread for this.

Just in

"Washington tourism bigger than Hawaii"

Tourism is nearly a $15 billion industry in the state of Washington, according to a report released by state officials Wednesday.......
....That puts Washington ahead of Hawaii, where visitors spent $12.2 billion in 2007.

I just got back from Washington in August and it was Freezing! I wonder if more people go there now because it just costs to much to do anything in Hawaii anymore.
-------------
On this day in History:
A do-it-yourselfer painting an attic in a Manoa house on O'ahu, Hawai'i finds a stash of Hawai'i bills worth $100,000, 1980. After 45 days, when nobody claims the money, he is able to keep it. The bills were stamped Hawai'i during WW II due to government monetary restrictions.

[Bob Orts]

Washington, like many similar located states, has what's call jump-off or pass-through tourism. Let's say a person from Illinois is taking an Alaska cruise leaving from Seattle. They may fly in a day early and spend the night in a hotel. That night is classified as tourism dollars to the state.

Also states can sneakily move dollars from one category to another. Is a person staying at a hotel as a tourist or for business travel? If they want one group or another to be seen as a financial gain, they just move dollars around. You will notice this when a state has a large employer who may have hundreds of business travelers throughout the year, but when a special event occurs, suddenly there's almost nothing listed as income from business travelers, it's all tourists.

I would venture to say that Hawaii's percentage of pure tourist dollars (came to visit the islands) is higher per visitor than Washington since most people stay longer than an overnight and seldom are passing trough or making a pit stop on their way from one state to another.

[Guest]

Hawaii has a very significant amount of "Pass-Through" tourist too.

More than six million visitors come to Hawaii every year, and nearly 15 million pass through Honolulu on their way to points in Asia and the U.S. Hawaii also depends on shipments of merchandise, food, and other goods to keep the wheels of commerce turning.

According to this Hawaii Government site.



-------------
Today in History:
Lava erupts from Kilauea and forces the evacuation of 500 people from Kapoho Village, Hawai'i, 1955

[Bob Orts]

That's true.
When I travel at best I may spend the night at a location due to lay-over’s. Those are usually quick one nighters. But, if the location has a lot to offer I may travel a few days earlier to have an extra day or two to be a tourist.
Too bad we can't determine if those pass-through travelers are just spending the night or including Hawaii as a destination. If they are coming or going to the mainland, was Hawaii just a stop on the flight or did they arrange to stop and visit Hawaii as part of their trip?