The US tourism industry continued nine straight quarters of growth with a 6.7% increase in 2004, according to the Commerce Department.
Sales of food, airline travel, recreation and entertainment goods fueled the growth, according to the government.
Tourism sales last year rose to $960.7 billion from $900 billion the previous year.
That marked the third straight annual increase in sales of travel-related goods and services.
The biggest chunk of the growth, $548.6 billion, came from hotel accommodations, airfares, souvenirs or direct tourism sales.
Airline passengers spending rose 6.9% to more than $92 billion.
“The travel industry….has handily exceeded the significant pullback in consumer travel spending after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States,” said Reuters news service.
Report by David Wilkening
