US inbound tourism is on its way to making a full recovery, according to the IPK International World Travel Monitor.
But estimated arrivals from overseas markets are still down from their 2000 peak, said the Office of Travel & Tourism Industries (OTTI) in the US Department of Commerce.
Trends for the first ten months of the year from OTTI point to a 17% increase in arrivals from Mexico, with a 10% growth from both Canada and overseas markets. These figures correlate with IPK International’s own estimates through the month of September.
France leads the growth in European travel to the US.
According to IPK, west European travel to the US rose by 11% over the period, in terms of trip volume, as against +10% for east European markets.
The leading European sources, in order of importance, are:
The UK (+6% over 2006 in terms of trips), Germany (+9%), France (+28%), Italy (+20%), Spain (+22%), the Netherlands (+13%) and Ireland (+17%). Russia also increased by 20%, although it is not among the leading sources.
“With the exception of the UK, which grew by a comparatively modest 6%, Europe’s leading markets all performed remarkably well,” said Rolf Freitag, President & CEO of IPK International. “This was hardly surprising, either, given the favorable exchange rates and pent-up demand in some markets.” He added:
“France’s exceptional growth, for example, follows a poor 2006 attributed to confusion and delays over new passport and visa regulations for the US. French leisure travel to the US increased by an even more impressive 36%.”
Report by David Wilkening
