More from West Coast, Japan visit Hawaii in Jan.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority said Thursday that total visitors in January were up nearly 6 percent compared with the same month last year. The islands welcomed nearly 682,000 visitors in January.

Total spending for the month was $1.43 billion, up 5.7 percent compared with January 2012.

Chief executive Mike McCartney of the Hawaii Tourism Authority said the gains are the result of significant increases in the number of seats available on flights to Hawaii. The state is on pace to have more spots on flights available this year than ever before, he said.

"We recognize that we cannot take this growth for granted," McCartney said. "It has taken three years to rebuild our airlift after having lost 1.5 million air seats between 2007 and 2009.

"It is important that we continue to focus our efforts on highlighting our unique people, place and culture in order to drive demand, offer opportunities for travel during slower fall and spring shoulder seasons and increase visitor distribution throughout the Hawaiian islands," he said.