This week, tourism officials heard about the timeshare landscape in Hawaiʻi. The Hawaiʻi Tourism Conference wrapped up, and the numbers for visitors have not been looking good.
The most recent data from July showed a nearly 5% decrease in visitors and visitor spending from the same time last year. The largest decline of 11% came from Canadian tourists.
Timeshares also slipped slightly this last quarter compared to the same time last year across the state, except for Kauaʻi. Overall, it dipped less than 1%.
Jason Gamel is with the American Resort Development Association. A recent ARDA report points to the generation of more than $518 million in Hawaiʻi's state tax coffers.
When HPR talked to Gamel last year, the timeshare business was bucking the trends, leading tourism recovery out of the pandemic.
The majority of its timeshare owners, 57%, are now millennials and Gen Zers — not Baby Boomers. Many grew up vacationing in timeshares and have inherited their parents' timeshare properties.
Gamel said two-thirds of new timeshare owners are from that same demographic. He said the timeshare landscape is still strong overall, but that it did take hits with neighbors in Canada and Japan. HPR talked to Gamel to get a snapshot of the timeshare landscape across the state.
This story aired on The Conversation on Sept. 25, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
