About 5.5 million tour-ists visited Hawai'i in the first 10 months of the year, putting the state on track for an annual visitor count of about 6.5 million.

The global recession and swine flu have taken a toll on tourism, leaving Hawai'i well below 7 million visitors for the second year in a row. Last year, 6.7 million tourists visited the Islands, but the three years before that, the state easily topped 7 million.

The state reported yesterday the number of visitors decreased 1.7 percent in October from the same month last year, to 505,676.

Tourism has been in a general slump over the past year and a half but has shown signs of improvement in recent months, leading officials to predict a gradual recovery next year. That hope is tempered by the effects of lingering global economic downturn and the unpredictability of the H1N1 virus and its impact on travel.

Hawai'i Tourism Authority President and Chief Executive Mike McCartney said the latest statistics showed that some key positive trends continued through October. McCartney noted that:

• Growth in arrivals from the U.S. West increased for the sixth consecutive month.

• Arrivals from Japan continued an upward trend, showing an increase for the second consecutive month.

• A stabilization of arrivals by air. And one of the major contributors to this stabilization has been the restoration of airlift capacity and air seats to Hawai'i.

HOPEFUL SIGNS

Keith Vieira, senior vice president and director of operations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Hawai'i and French Polynesia, said there are signs of improvement after the prolonged slump.

"Just the general momentum is the important first step," Vieira said. But some of that business comes on the heels of hotels and other visitor companies offering bargain prices below what the market supported in the boom years.

State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert said she was pleased "to see some positive numbers from the Neighbor Islands, which have been particularly affected by the downturn in tourism."

Wienert said total expenditures and per person per day spending on Kaua'i increased for the second consecutive month. And per person per day expenditures on Maui and the Big Island also increased.

Vieira said visitors still are not spending as much money.

He said the coordinated private and state marketing pushes seem to be working to target top markets and tout Hawai'i as a dream destination now available at a great value.

"That's a message that sells," Vieira said. But he tends to agree with other industry leaders who predict a rebound will take more time.

The September numbers were up for the first time after 17 months of decline. That was the result of a major convention by the American Dental Association as well as a confluence of national holidays in Japan called Silver Week that both brought a lot of travelers as well as continued deep discounts offered to keep visitors filling up rooms.

SHIP ARRIVALS SLUMP

But October fared less well. Arrivals by air were relatively unchanged (-0.3 percent), but arrivals by ship — a far smaller number — declined 39.7 percent from last October due to fewer cruise ships to the Islands during the month.

The result was a 3.3 percent decrease in total visitor days compared to last October. The average length of stay by all visitors was 8.95 days, compared to 9.10 days in October 2008.

Total spending by air visitors for October 2009 fell 5.2 percent or $43.4 million to $792.7 million, due to lower average daily spending by these visitors ($179 per person, down from $185 per person in October 2008).

Among the top four visitor markets, arrivals by air from the U.S. West increased for the sixth consecutive month, up 2.5 percent from October 2008.

Arrivals from Japan also (2.6 percent) increased and arrivals from Canada were stable (+0.5 percent). But arrivals from U.S. East (-2.9 percent) were lower compared to October 2008.

McCartney said he's pleased "because we have been focusing our attention on these two markets. Our marketing efforts by our marketing partners, Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau and Hawai'i Tourism Japan, seem to be having a strong impact."

Wienert highlighted an increase in visitors coming to the state to honeymoon from both domestic and international destinations.