The Andaz Maui Resort features one of its stunning infinity pools.
Hawaii welcomed 873,430 visitors in July 2025, down 4.4% from July 2024. Almost all travellers, 99.7%, came by air. Most arrived from the U.S. mainland, particularly the East and West coasts. Fewer visitors came from abroad, with Japan seeing a 1.4% drop, Canada falling 11.6%, and other international regions decreasing 3.3%.
Spending Slows Down
Visitor spending also slipped, falling 4.3% compared to July 2024. Officials noted that travellers spent less across the islands, reflecting a weaker month for Hawaii’s tourism economy.
Cruise Visitors Provide a Bright Spot
Despite the overall decline, cruise tourism stood out. DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka said July is often a quiet month for cruise ships, as seen in both 2019 and 2024. However, in July 2025, two out-of-state cruise ships visited Hawaii, with each ship completing two island tours.
Maui Struggles After Wildfires
Maui continues to face challenges two years after the devastating wildfires. The island saw 235,529 visitors in July 2025. This was only slightly lower, down 0.3%, compared to July 2024. But it remained 20.7% below July 2023, before the wildfires struck.
For the first seven months of 2025, Maui recorded 1,503,907 visitors. That figure was 9.2% higher than during the same period in 2024. However, it still sat 16.2% below the numbers seen before the wildfires in 2023.
Tourism Officials Respond
Tokioka said Hawaii’s tourism sector faced a “soft month,” with fewer arrivals and lower spending across all major air travel markets. He stressed the importance of monitoring these trends while also highlighting small positives, such as the unexpected boost from cruise tourism.
