U.S. Commerce Department Sees Damaging Shortfall in Visitors to U.S.

The U.S. Travel Association responded to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s announcement that 2008 overseas arrivals to the United States remained below pre-9/11 levels with a renewed call for a nationally-coordinated travel promotion program to attract millions of new visitors.

The U.S. Travel Association responded to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s announcement that 2008 overseas arrivals to the United States remained below pre-9/11 levels with a renewed call cal to America’s economic recovery.

According to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the United States welcomed 25.3 million overseas visitors in 2008. Although this represented a modest increase over 2007 overseas arrivals, the United States welcomed 633,000 fewer overseas visitors in 2008 than in 2000. Making matters worse, there were 48 million more long-haul travelers in 2008 than in 2000.

If U.S. overseas arrivals had kept pace with international long-haul travel trends from 2001-2008, America would have welcomed a cumulative total of 58 million more visitors, $182 billion in new spending and $27 billion in new tax revenue. These visitors would have supported 245,000 American jobs each year.

Source: CaribbeanNewsDigital