Waikīkī is noticeably quieter than before the pandemic as Japanese tourism struggles to recover. Here’s why fewer crowds are changing Hawaiʻi’s most famous beach destination.
Ivisited Waikīkī in April, and it was the quietest I’ve ever seen it.
Aside from a handful of busier weekend evenings with a couple of banner events translating into a wait for a table at Halekulani’s iconic House Without a Key, the traffic up and down the Kalākaua retail strip was distinctly muted compared to days past. No lines at Louis Vuitton—no throngs of shoppers buying Aloha shirts or hula Hello Kitty merch.
Hawai’i’s ABC affiliate KITV reported Tuesday that a weak Japanese yen compared to the dollar is responsible for much of the calm. While visitation to Waikīkī has mostly recovered since 2019—the previous high-water mark for inbound tourism—the recovery has largely been dependent on U.S. domestic visitors. Visitors from Japan are still only around half what they were in 2019, Eric Takahata, Hawai‘i Tourism Authority’s Managing Director for Japan, told KITV.
“It’s easily 40% to 50% more [expensive for Japanese visitors] to travel here now than it was in 2019,” says Takahata.
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The sustained drop and slower recovery of visitors from Japan means that many of the businesses that were most popular among that segment have found their situations untenable. The luxury duty-free retailer DFS Group announced in January it would end all Hawai‘i operations by the end of August, closing stores in Waikīkī and at the Honolulu and Kahului airports. The Honolulu airport store in particular was the oldest duty-free shop in the United States, first opened in 1962.
The remaining visitors from Japan are also spending less than they were a decade ago. In 2013, Japan represented a premium visitor market, with visitors from Japan outspending their U.S. counterparts by over 80%. Now, the trend has flipped: U.S. per capita visitor spend is nearing that of Japan in 2013, while per capita visitor spend from Japan is down 13%, and total visitor numbers are also down.
Some Japanese visitors told KITV they were impacted by the currency fluctuations, but came to Hawai‘i because they loved it, finding ways to save money, such as cooking their own meals and sticking to lower-cost activities like beach days. Many Japanese visitors, however, are finding cheaper alternatives, either staying in Japan or going to more affordable Korean destinations instead of making the trip to Hawai‘i.
In Waikīkī, that makes for fewer crowds. One of the shuttered retail storefronts is now an immersive art installation called Under The Southern Sun in a space formerly occupied by a national apparel brand. Mostly built out by Native Hawaiian artists and creators, the installation pays homage to the cultural history of Waikīkī—specifically the land the installation sits on.
There was hardly a wait anywhere—not at Liliha Bakery on the third floor of the International Marketplace; not at any of the four hotel bars at Marriott’s Waikīkī Collection where I somehow managed my way through the Mai Tai Express (and got a coaster set for my efforts); not at the Halekulani Bakery where I bit into a Black Sesame Kouign-Amann so good I wanted to move into it.
Some hotels have also taken the opportunity to make some refreshes. The owner of the four Marriott Waikīkī Collection properties, Kyo-Ya Hotels & Resorts, is a Japanese company that has long marketed the hotels extensively to Japanese visitors. The Moana Surfrider, a Westin Resort & Spa, recently renovated the Surfrider Wing rooms in a contemporary residential style, and Sheraton Waikīkī will repurpose a breakfast space into the new three-meal Hina Hina Waikīkī.
It’s a bit early to tell what this ultimately means for Waikīkī. Total visitors are on the rebound, visitor spend is on the rebound—it’s just missing that once-vital Japan segment. For a subsect of Waikīkī businesses—some of them longstanding—the changing market dynamics mean they’re pau (finished). But if this new, low-key Waikīkī—with vibes closer to “languid resort” than “frenetic Times Square”—is the new normal, it’s hard to complain too much or too loudly.