Subtle
Shifts in Key Traveler Characteristics Noted
Today the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the results of its 2011 Survey program which highlights the states, cities, and territories that benefited from overseas travelers to the
Destinations:
New York State was the most visited state by overseas travelers in 2011 for the
tenth consecutive year. Visitation to New
York increased 10 percent, increasing its market
share to 34 percent. California
moved into second position, with a nine percent increase in visitation. Florida slipped to third
position, its visitation having declined by two percent. Nevada ,
Hawaii , Massachusetts ,
Texas , Illinois ,
Guam and New Jersey
rounded out the top 10 states in visitation estimates. Of the 21
states/territories for which estimates are available, double-digit increases
were experienced by six states. Texas and Colorado posted 25 and
30 percent increases, respectively, in their visitation estimates, the highest
growth among all states.
The cities most visited by overseas
travelers in 2011 were New York City , Los Angeles , Miami , San Francisco , Las Vegas , Orlando , Washington , DC, Honolulu , Boston and Chicago . Of the 21 city
visitation estimates issued, all but five posted increases. Seven states posted
double-digit increases in 2011 compared to 13 cities that registered
double-digit increases in 2010. The cities that experienced the largest
visitation increases were Dallas , Houston , San Jose and Las Vegas , all over 15
percent.
To view the top states and cities visited by overseas travelers, go to: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/ outreachpages/download_data_ table/2011_States_and_Cities. pdf
To view the top states and cities visited by overseas travelers, go to: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/
Changes in a destination's visitation estimate
vary from year-to-year due to changes in origin market ‘demand side factors,'
shifts in traveler characteristics and normal statistical error. For the 2011 top three:
·
Overseas visitation to New York State was up 10 percent in 2011. Travel
to the state, from the following regions, was as follows: Europe (5.0 million),
up eight percent; Asia (1.5 million), up 30 percent; South America (1.5
million), up 22 percent, the Middle East (434,000), up two percent, and Africa (149,000), up four percent. However, travel from Oceania (460,000) was down 13 percent. New York City hosted 98 percent of the
travelers to the state.
·
California
state visitation was up nine percent. Travel from Europe (2.6 million), up 12
percent; Asia (2.0 million), up four percent; and Oceania
(676,000), up 14 percent. Los Angeles , San Francisco , San Diego
and Anaheim
accounted for 60 percent, 47 percent, 13 percent and six percent, respectively,
of visitation to the state (multiple cities visited).
·
Florida
state visitation was down two percent. Travel from Europe (2.7 million), down
three percent; South America (1.8 million), up two percent; and Asia (319,000), up 11 percent. Visits from the Caribbean Islands
to Florida
(461,000), were down seven percent. Miami and
Orlando accounted for 52 percent and 49 percent of Florida travelers, respectively. Arrivals to
Miami were down five percent whereas arrivals to
Orlando were up
three percent.
Traveler Characteristics:
Changes in key traveler characteristics may also influence visitation, such as, business versus leisure travel, the number of destinations visited, and/or the traveler's use of transportation within the country. Some of the key shifts in overseas traveler characteristics that occurred in 2011 compared to 2010, and over the past several years, that can impact the destinations visited include:
Changes in key traveler characteristics may also influence visitation, such as, business versus leisure travel, the number of destinations visited, and/or the traveler's use of transportation within the country. Some of the key shifts in overseas traveler characteristics that occurred in 2011 compared to 2010, and over the past several years, that can impact the destinations visited include:
·
Leisure travel, as a purpose of trip, declined slightly to 67.6% share of all
purposes; this is still at the highest of all purpose of trip percentages since
OTTI started the survey in 1983. Business and convention travel declined
slightly, as percentages of share, as did visiting friends and relatives. Student travel and ‘other' travel increased by one
percentage point.
·
Business travel's share dropped slightly in 2011, to 19.8 percent. The share of business
travel has declined for four straight years and was down from a high of 30.2
percent in 2000.
·
‘Conventional' tour package travel share dropped almost one
percentage point to 16.1 percent. Its share has decreased in five of the last
six years. This infers that visitors are traveling more independently and/or
are constructing their own ‘packages' virtually.
·
The average number of states visited in 2011 remained at 1.6. However, the
percentage of travelers visiting three or more states increased by 0.5
percentage point offsetting the slight decline in those visiting only one or
two states. Likewise, the average number of destinations visited remained at 2.0. There was a
slight net increase in the number of travelers visiting more than only one
destination.
·
The length of stay in the U.S. averaged 18.1 nights, up 1.1
nights from 2010.
· Regarding the use of transportation modes while in the United States ,
there was a notable increase in the use of inter-city transportation (airlines,
rail and buses). However, there continues to be a declining trend in the use of
automobiles (rental cars, company/private autos). Public transit (subway/bus)
experienced a marked increase during 2011.
·
The share of first time travelers to the United States increased three
percentage points to 28 percent. Among repeat travelers to the U.S. , the
average was 1.7 trips in the previous 12 months.
· Women travelers as a percent of the total increased to almost 45 percent in
2011. Their
share has increased in 10 of the last 12 years.
·
Activity participation showed an uptick for those visiting historical places,
national parks and cultural heritage sites.
OTTI has released 11 world regional profiles and
24 countries (Colombia , Ireland , Poland
& Sweden
were added in 2011). In addition, the five sector profiles were also updated
for 2011. These profiles provide traveler characteristics for each market
between 2010 and 2011 along with the destinations visited each year. Changes in
the traveler characteristics and visitation patters by region, country and
sector each year impact the total visitation estimates reported by OTTI, and by
reviewing these changes, one may be able to better explain the changes in
visitation at the destination level.
Also released with this update are:
Also released with this update are:
·
International Visitor
Spending in the U.S.
report
·
Key Facts About
International Travelers to the U.S.
· Overseas Market Profile
To view these data reports, please go to: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/ outreachpages/inbound.general_ information.inbound_overview. html
In 2011, OTTI collected 38,423 surveys; up five
percent from the number collected in 2010.This was also the largest number of
responses collected since 1999. Contributing to the increase was the
implementation of supplemental survey collections at 12 gateway airports. Collections
funded by destinations at their respective departure airports account for over
seven percent of the collections. The database that provides a count of all
overseas travelers was also enhanced as records from the 36 visa waiver
countries are now captured electronically, improving data quality.
Destination visitation estimates are publicly
released for 21 states and 21 cities. The limited number of estimates for
destinations visited is due to limitations in sample size and OTTI's
statistical policy which requires a minimum of 400 survey respondents for a
public estimate.