U.S. Travel Association

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*Please note that 2014 and 2015 U.S. arrivals data from all overseas markets are not comparable to earlier years (or to each other) due to technical processing changes by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the availability of additional electronic records. 2016 data is comparable to 2015 but not fully comparable to earlier years.

Sources

US Travel Association: Travel Industry Employment, Expenditures, Payroll Income, and Total, Federal, State and Local Travel-Generated Tax Revenue; State Tourism Office Budget Data, Travel Price Index (TPI)

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics: Non-Travel Industry Employment, Unemployment Rate, Consumer Price Index (CPI)

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis: Gross Domestic Product, Exports, Imports, Trade Balance

U.S. Department of Commerce, The Census Bureau: Median Household Income, Population

U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries: International Visitation to the U.S.

Tourism Economics: U.S. Resident Travel Abroad

Definitions

Monthly Employment and International Trade data are seasonally adjusted

Monthly Inflation data are both seasonally adjusted (1 month change) and seasonally unadjusted (12 month change)

International Travel to/from the U.S.

International Arrivals to the U.S: The total number of visitations in the U.S. from a given country/region.
MSI: U.S. Arrivals as a Share of Origin Outbound Long-Haul Travel: The number of visitations in the U.S. from given country/region as a share of the total number of outbound visitations from that same country/region to any long-haul destination.

For example, in 2015, there were 2.6 million Chinese visitations to the U.S., out of a total of 17 million Chinese visitations to all countries outside of Asia. The MSI is therefore 15%.
U.S. Arrivals by Origin as Share of Total Visits to the U.S.: The number of visitations to the U.S. from given country/region as a share of the total number of international visitations to the U.S.

For example, in 2015, there were 2.6 million Chinese visitations to the U.S., out of a total of 77.5 million international visitations to the U.S. The share is therefore 3.3%.
U.S. Arrivals by Origin as Share of Long-Haul Visits to the U.S.: The number of visitations to the U.S. from given country/region as a share of the total number of overseas visitations to the U.S.

For example, in 2015, there were 2.6 million Chinese visitations to the U.S., out of a total of 38.4 million overseas visitations to the U.S. The share is therefore 6.7%.
U.S. Travelers in Selected Country/Region: The total number of U.S. residents visiting a given country/region.

For example, in 2015, there were 2.2 million visitations by Americans to China.

U.S. Travel Trade Statistics

U.S. Travel Exports: Travel spending (purchases of goods and services by foreign travelers in the United Sates for business or personal reasons) + passenger fare receipts + expenditures for educational and health-related purposes made by students and medical patients, along with all expenditures by border, seasonal, and other short-term workers.
Travel Spending by International Visitors: All spending by international visitors in the U.S. (ie: purchases of goods and services for business or personal reasons) EXCEPT spending by foreigners related to education and health, international passenger fares (on U.S. airlines) and spending by short-term or border workers.
U.S. Travel Imports: Travel spending by U.S. travelers abroad (purchases of goods and services by U.S. travelers abroad for business or personal reasons) + passenger fare receipts for U.S. travelers on foreign airlines + expenditures for educational and health-related purposes made by U.S. students and medical patients abroad, along with all expenditures by border, seasonal, and other short-term U.S. workers abroad.
U.S. Travel Trade Balance: U.S. Travel Exports minus U.S. Travel Imports
Travel Share of Total U.S. Exports: U.S. Travel Exports as a share of Total U.S. Exports of Goods and Services to a given country.
Average Trip Spending per International Visitor to the U.S.: Travel spending + passenger fare receipts, per international arrival to the U.S. (This excludes education and health-related travel and border/seasonal workers.)

For example, in 2013, Chinese visitors spent a total of $10.6 billion on goods and services (excluding education and health) in the U.S. and an additional $2.4 billion in passenger fares on U.S. airlines, for a combined total of $13 billion. Since 1.8 million Chinese visitations to the U.S. the average trip spending was $7,200.
Average Trip Spending per U.S. Traveler Abroad in Selected Country/Region: Travel spending + passenger fare receipts, per U.S. traveler abroad (This excludes education and health-related travel and border/seasonal workers.)

For example, in 2013, U.S. travelers spent a total of $3.6 billion on goods and services in China (excluding education and health) and an additional $0.7 billion in passenger fares on Chinese airlines, for a combined total of $4.3 billion. Since 1.9 million U.S. travelers arrived in China, the average trip spending was $2,288.

Global Travel Trends

Long-Haul Outbound Visitations: Total number of visitations by residents of a given country/region to international destination outside of its “region”. An outbound trip consisting of visitations to two countries counts as two outbound visitations.

For purposes of long-haul calculations, we use the following 7 regions: (i) North America (including only U.S., Canada, and Mexico); (ii) Latin America & Caribbean (including the rest of the Western Hemisphere); (iii) Europe (including all of Europe as well as Central Asia); (iv) Africa; (v) Middle East; (vi) Asia; and (vii) Oceania.
Long-Haul as Share of Total Origin Outbound Travel: Total number of visitations by residents of a given country/region to “long-haul” international destination as a share of total number of visitations by residents of the same country/region to all international destination.

For example, in 2015, Chinese residents accounted for 79 million international visitations, of which 17 million were visitations to countries outside of Asia. The long-haul share was therefore 21%.

Since the U.S. cannot compete for Chinese tourists with short-haul Asian destinations but rather only those with potential long-haul travel, the long-haul shares (particularly the forecasts) shed light on potential U.S. visitors.
Long-Haul Outbound as Share of Total World Long-Haul Travel: Total number of visitations by residents of a given country/region to “long-haul” international destination as a share of total global long-haul travel.

For example, in 2015, Chinese residents accounted for 17 million visitations to countries outside of Asia out of a total of 276 million long-haul visitations worldwide. The long-haul share of China was therefore 6%.

This indicator helps track the relative size and potential size of specific long-haul markets, and changes over time (including forecasts through 2020).
Long-Haul Inbound Visitations: The total number of international arrivals in a certain country/region from origins outside its region.
Long-Haul Inbound as Share of Total World Long-Haul Travel: Total number of international arrivals from “long-haul” origins to a given country/region as a share of total global long-haul travel.

For example, in 2015, there were 38.4 million overseas (long-haul) arrivals to the U.S. , out of 276 million long-haul visitations throughout the world. The U.S. inbound long-haul share was therefore 14%.

U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries: U.S. arrivals data for all 50 countries as well as forecasts through 2020 for Top 20 countries.

Oxford Economics: U.S. arrivals forecasts for 30 remaining countries; Basic international visitation numbers and forecasts (except U.S. arrivals data available through OTTI); All international economic statistics.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis: U.S. Travel Trade Statistics.

U.S. Travel Association: All long-haul travel calculations and other travel statistics.

Key Statistics and Forecast

Travel Price Index (TPI): A measure of the relative cost of travel away from home in the United States using an index value that is based on and modeled after the Consumer Price Index (CPI). TPI is released monthly by the U.S. Travel Association.
Travel Spending by International Visitors: All spending by international visitors in the U.S. (ie: purchases of goods and services for business or personal reasons) EXCEPT spending by foreigners related to education and health, international passenger fares (on U.S. airlines) and spending by short-term or border workers. This is equal to the "Travel Spending" indicator in the International Travel Statistics section of ITA.
Total International Visitations to the U.S.: All visits by international travelers to the United States. For example, a family of five from Brazil who visits the U.S. twice a year counts as 10 visitations.
Overseas Visitations to the U.S.: All visits to the U.S. by travelers who are residents of all countries EXCEPT Canada and Mexico. For example, a family of five from Brazil who visits the U.S. twice a year counts as 10 overseas visitations, but a family from Mexico does not count as any overseas visitations.
Global Long-Haul Travel: Total number of "out of region" trips taken around the world, calculated per person and per county visited on each occasion.

For purposes of long-haul calculations, we use the following 7 regions:
- North America (including only U.S., Canada, and Mexico);
- Latin America & Caribbean (including the rest of the Western Hemisphere);
- Europe (including all of Europe as well as Central Asia);
- Africa;
- Middle East;
- Asia;
- Oceania.
U.S. Share of Global Long-Haul Travel: A measure of overseas (long-haul) travel to the U.S. divided by long-haul (ie: inter-regional) travel to all countries. This calculation does not include travel from Canada and Mexico to the U.S. in the numerator, and likewise does not include travel between countries in the same continent/region (such as from France to Spain) in the denominator.
Total U.S. Domestic Person-Trips: Total number of domestic trips multiplied by the number of people traveling. Each domestic-person trip reflects one person on a trip away from home overnight in paid accommodations, or on a day or overnight trip to places 50 miles or more, one-way, away from home. For example, if a family of five travels 50 miles each way on a day trip within the U.S., this counts as 5 domestic person-trips.

GDP, Unemployment, CPI, and international spending (historic data only), as well as international visitations data and forecasts: U.S. Government

TPI and domestic trips/spending: U.S. Travel Association

Global long-haul travel and U.S. share of long-haul: U.S. Travel Association based on data from Oxford Economics

All forecasts (other than international visitations): U.S. Travel Association's Travel Forecast Model and Oxford Economics