Hawaii Weddings Statistics

As we drew closer to the end of 2010, it is also time to sum up what happened in the year and plan for the coming year.

If we go by the local newscasters daily reports, then we can look forward to positive economic growth in 2011. It will be slow but the overall outlook is trending upwards.

As of the latest statistics report (November 2010), the overall visitors arrival to date has increased by 8% and that data was taken from January to September 2010. So we can safely presume that the final data will reinforce positive growth.

	T  A  B  L  E   1.    T O T A L    V I S I T O R S     BY    AIR
		NOVEMBER			YEAR-TO-DATE
	2010P	2009	% CHANGE	2010P	2009	% CHANGE
VISITOR DAYS	5,150,732	4,375,209	17.7%	59,301,180	54,421,045	9.0%
TOTAL VISITORS	560,588	476,801	17.6%	6,358,844	5,851,023	8.7%
DOMESTIC	402,780	332,826	21.0%	4,583,988	4,275,294	7.2%
INTERNATIONAL	157,808	143,975	9.6%	1,774,856	1,575,729	12.6%
AVERAGE DAILY CENSUS	171,691	145,840	17.7%	177,548	162,937	9.0%
TOTAL AIR SEATS (EST)	728,550	671,548	8.5%	8,475,141	8,010,529	5.8%
TOTAL LOAD FACTOR (EST)	93.0%	86.6%	6.4	89.8%	87.2%	2.6

Downloaded 12/31/2010 http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/visitor-stats/tourism/

However, for the wedding industry, the overall result was not positive. It is not clear what is causing the decline. Could it be that marriage is no longer the fundamental foundation for the 'family' hierarchical value in this highly technologically savvy environment? Or perhaps it is just a matter of changing priorities? For whatever reason, it is clear that getting married in the islands is sloping downwards.

Preliminary Vital Statistics As of November 15, 2010
Month of Occurrence	Marriages 2010	Marriages 2009	% difference
January	1468	1412	3%
February	1532	1749	-14%
March	1826	1885	-4%
April	1918	1850	3%
May	2416	2541	-5%
June	2280	2107	8%
July	2127	2060	3%
August	2111	2040	3%
September	1988	2295	-14%

Primary data downloaded 12/31/2010 http://hawaii.gov/health/statistics/vital-statistics/vs_prelm/vital-statistics/vs_prelm/vs_pre10.html

If we disregard the above reasons for the marriage downward trend and put it down to a fluke due to economic variables, then we can look for ways to freshen our Hawaii wedding industry. It is a known fact that we live on an island and that our economy is heavily dependent on the visitors industry. The Hawaii wedding industry included. There is an ongoing highly sophisticated marketing campaign targeting Hawaii as a premier wedding destination. Television and magazine ads abound. In the meantime, one way to boost business is to find innovative ways to market locally.

So where does one start marketing within the neighborhood? Share your apps with your gym friends, your family, grocer, mailman/woman, with everyone that you know. Build a landing page that covers your services. Social media is another way to reach people within your community or target area. Use free advertising, like craiglist, to spread the word. If you have the fund, advertise in your local paper.

Businesses that depended heavily on the visitors industry sometimes neglect the local market in their advertising campaign. I know because I was one. But looking closer to home will not only add value to the bottom line but will also help boost the local economy. A win win situation for all.

Have a wonderful 2011!

taueva faotusia