According to a report released by First Hawaiian Bank, the number of credit and debit card transactions increased by 9.3 percent during the first half of 2012. Merchants who worked with First Hawaiian Bank rang up $1.47 billion in sales during this period, a significant increase from the $1.35 billion in sales recording during the first half of 2011. President and CEO of First Hawaiian Bank, Bob Harrison, stated, “It continues to be very strong, especially on the consumer side. It’s very encouraging.”
Harrison noted that visitor spending has increased by 16.8 percent and that visitor arrivals are up almost 10 percent, according to data from the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Harrison added, “Tourism, construction and military are the three largest pillars of the Hawaii economy. If you look at hotels (up 6.4 percent) and restaurants (up 10 percent), there’s continued strong growth. That ties in with what we’re hearing from people in Waikiki that it’s essentially full for the month of July, which is tremendous.”
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 7-8-2012, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
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