HONOLULU -- For an eighth-straight month Hawaii saw an increase in visitors traveling to the islands in July, Hawaii Tourism Authority officials said on Tuesday.

The state saw a 9 percent increase over the same time last year, HTA said. The state also saw a 23.3 percent increase in visitor spending.

"July marked the eighth month of positive growth in visitor arrivals, which is welcome news to everyone. Growth in visitor arrivals spurred an increase in visitor spending that benefited all islands," legislative tourism liaison Marsha Weinert said.

The increase in the number of visitors from the eastern U.S. helped spur the arrivals.

Hawaii Arrivals By Region:
U.S. East (177,507 visitors) +12.3 percent
Canada (19,853 visitors) +10.7 percent
Japan (105,564 visitors) +8 percent
U.S. West (292,206 visitors) +3.4 percent

The Rim of the Pacific military exercises involving 14 nations drew more than 33,000 people, HTA officials said.

July's increase marks the eighth-straight month of growth for Hawaii's tourism industry.

Tourism Arrivals By Island July 2010:
Oahu (421,573 visitors) +8.4 percent
Maui (211,477 visitors) +11.5 percent
Big Island (127,550 visitors) +7.6 percent
Kauai (101,535 visitors) +6.4 percent
Lanai (6,250 visitors) +13.9 percent
Molokai (4,905 visitors) +5.8 percent

So far this year, Hawaii has seen an increase of 6.2 percent in arrivals and a 3.9 percent in daily spending. The average daily visitor spending increased last month by $16 over the $162 a day in July 2009.

While the increases are key to Hawaii's tourism recovery, Weinert said that visitor spending is not expected to return to the peak the state saw in 2007 until 2013.