US Travel Association reports that direct travel spending reached USD 1.2 trillion in the country prior to the pandemic (Photo: San Francisco Travel Association)
Travel spending across the United States in 2022 stood at USD 1.2 trillion and the economic footprint produced by it was USD 2.6 trillion, says a report released by the US Travel Association, the premier association of the tourism industry.
Geoff Freeman
“Travel rebounded strongly in 2022 thanks to robust demand for domestic leisure travel. Now we must focus on fully restoring the international and business travel segments to continue growing this critical driver of the US economy,’’ says US Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman.
The report released last night by USTA also says that travel in the US in 2022 supported nearly 15 million American workers. About 8 million of those workers were directly employed by the travel industry. The report adds that travel spending in the US generated nearly USD 160 billion in total tax revenue, including USD 84 billion in state and local tax revenue for 2022. Equally notable, travel-generated tax revenue alleviated an average of USD 1,270 in taxes per U.S. household, says the report.
Each segment of the travel industry plays a valuable role in generating this important revenue, says USTA adding that the domestic leisure segment generated USD 837 billion in 2022, representing a 99 pc recovery. Domestic business travel generated USD 234 billion, which is a 74 pc recovery compared to pre-pandemic levels. International inboound travel is the lowest of the three at just USD 116 billion. That total amounts to just a 55 pc recovery rate compared to years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, says the report.
It goes on to add that inbound travel in particular, was once the top services export of the country, generating a trade surplus at its height in 2015 of USD 86 billion, but in 2022, and the travel’s surplus has declined to just USD 3 billion.
USTA says that it has been repeatedly calling on leaders in Washington to improve visa processing times for international travellers. Earlier this week, the association released a report showing that international travellers from key source markets face excessive wait times for visitor visas. This includes Brazil, Mexico and Columbia, where wait times are 511 days, 590 days and 752 days, respectively, as of April 14. The organisation says the US is losing its competitive edge as a result of the lengthy visa wait times.
