Maui’s tourism sector is showing signs of a complex recovery, with new data revealing a mixed bag of results for July 2025. While Maui Now's recent report indicates a decline in overall visitor arrivals and spending, the hotel industry demonstrated surprising strength, offering a critical insight into the ongoing economic adjustments.
According to the report, island-wide hotel occupancy improved significantly, rising 6.2 percentage points to 66.7% compared to 60.5% in July 2024. This increase suggests that, despite fewer visitors, hotels are effectively managing to fill rooms and generate revenue. The Lahaina/Kā‘anapali/Kapalua region, of particular interest given the recent challenges, saw occupancy reach 66.2%, a substantial increase from 57.9% in July 2024. This suggests recovery is underway in the areas hardest hit by past events.
This positive trend in hotel occupancy is particularly significant when considering the context of overall tourism figures. As highlighted by Maui Now, visitor arrivals to Maui are still lagging behind pre-pandemic levels. The DBEDT data shows that visitor arrivals in July 2025 were down over 22% from May 2019. This indicates a shift in the tourism landscape. Though overall visitor numbers may be down, those who are visiting appear to be spending more per stay, which helps sustain hotel occupancy rates.
The tourism industry’s ability to adapt and recover is essential for the wider Maui economy. A Travel Weekly report confirmed that year-to-date visitor arrivals grew compared to the first half of 2024, but were still lower than the first half of 2019. While this means the recovery is incomplete, it is still pointing upwards. The focus now shifts to nurturing sustainable tourism and rebuilding visitor confidence as the island moves forward in its economic recovery journey.
