Economic conditions and Japanese tourism to Hawaii

Abstract

Spectral analysis is used to investigate the sensitivity of the Hawaiian tourist industry to fluctuations in the Japanese economy. The number of Japanese visitors to Hawaii comoves most strongly with fluctuations in relative prices as measured by the ratio of the Japanese wholesale price index to the Honolulu consumer price index. Compared to qualitative factors, fluctuations in Japanese gross domestic expenditures and in consumer confidence are not strongly correlated with movements in the volume of Japanese tourism to Hawaii.