Hawaii posted another record year for visitor arrivals and spending in 2015. The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) counted a record 8.6 million people visited the island in the past 12 months, with an increased annual visitor spending of 2 per cent.

George D. Szigeti, President and CEO of the HTA, commented, “Congratulations to everyone in our tourism industry for contributing to Hawai‘i’s record-setting year. Everyone shares in the accomplishments of tourism, and all of our communities benefit from its success.

“Tourism is off to a strong start in 2016 and the outlook for the year is bright and optimistic. The public can be assured, however, that HTA is not resting on the laurels of tourism’s past success. Tourism is incredibly competitive. We are utilizing HTA’s state funding wisely, efficiently, responsibly and aggressively to compete for the attention of global travelers against destinations worldwide.”