Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Economic Recovery Written in Visitor Numbers

The latest news from the Hawaii visitor industry makes you wonder about all the double-dip recession talk. Eight straight months of visitor arrival increases is good news for Hawaii’s economy, especially when those increases in July occurred in every major market.

It ought to be obvious by now that the predicted cyclical swing back to positive territory is well underway. We keep writing about that here at Yes2Rail because to listen to some people, the economy is never never never going to improve.

That pessimistic vision supports their view that Honolulu can’t afford its planned rail system. All the positive news this month (noted here and here as well) must be disconcerting to them, even as the rest of us are cheered by it.

The “rail tax” is paid by visitors and residents alike, so the July increase in visitor expenditures – a whopping 23.3 percent above July 2009 – means the industry’s contribution to the project had a healthy jump, as well.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are a paid talker, but little substance. But the reason you are paid is You confound yourself with your own illogical thinking. Therefore, you arrive at the biased conclusions you are paid to communicate.

If you cannot understand this, you might not want to read any further, here....

To know whether the Excise Tax collection has caught up with predictions, you need to add up all the red (negative) figures of up to $300 million. Even if you have increased tourism, due to the Governor's efforts, and lower hotel prices, Oahu still cannot afford the proposed heavy Rail, you are supposed to preach about positively.

You can brain-wash some people, but not all. To prove this: you won't approve this comment.

Doug Carlson said...

Your reverse psychology is working, Anonymous. I fall into your trap every time (LOL).

Just provide us with your in-depth analysis please that "Oahu still cannot afford" it. Give us the sources on which you base your personal opinion so we can "balance" it against the FEIS. You have read the FEIS, haven't you?