Travellers to Hawaii’s Big Island drop 12.7 per cent in July

HONOLULU – Hawaii’s Big Island continued to experience sharp declines in visitors and tourism spending last month amid Kilauea volcano’s eruption.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority said Thursday the number of travellers to the island sank 12.7 per cent in July compared to the same month last year. Spending by visitors declined 7.2 per cent to $201 million.

Lava mostly stopped flowing from the volcano early this month. It was vigorously erupting in July.

Tourists had few options to see lava because Hawaii Volcanoes National Park closed in May due to eruption dangers. There was also no public viewing area outside the park.

Overall, more than 939,000 visitors came to the state. That’s a 5.3 per cent increase over July last year and a record high for any month.

Spending climbed 4.8 per cent to $1.66 billion.