The number of Hawai'i visitors who arrived by air and cruise ship fell 12.5 percent in January, a drop that was expected by the state's No. 1 private industry, according to preliminary state statistics released this morning.

The January numbers come from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism as the state continues to feel the pinch of a troubled economy and anxious consumers postpone vacation plans.

Visitor spending fell to $949.8 million, a 13.6 percent drop from January 2008.

All major visitor markets showed a drop — even Canada, which has been showing small increases in recent months while others had declined.

And visitor spending dropped from $178 a day to $172 per person.

The biggest decline came in a 12.4 percent drop in arrivals by air to 512,139 visitors and lower average daily visitor spending ($172 per person, from $178 per person in January 2008).

Total visitor days for air and cruise visitors in January 2009 fell 10.4 percent from the same month last year. Total arrivals for air and cruise visitors declined 12.5 percent from January 2008. However the average length of stay by these visitors was slightly longer at 10.79 days, compared to 10.54 days last January.

Among the top four visitor markets, air arrivals from the U.S. West decreased 14.3 percent while U.S. East arrivals were 14.9 percent less compared to January 2008. Japanese arrivals declined 12.7 percent while arrivals by air from Canada were 4.7 percent lower than last January.

State tourism liaison Marsha Wienert was able to find one positive statistic among the otherwise gloomy numbers: "While these overall numbers were not unexpected, an unexpected bright spot in the January 2009 statistics was a 49.2 percent growth in Japanese honeymooners to the islands." Detailed January 2009 Visitor Research Data can be viewed on the Web at: www.hawaii.gov/dbedt

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.