The U.S. Department of Commerce recently announced that real U.S. travel and tourism output (adjusted for changes in price) increased at an annual rate of 2.1 percent in the second quarter of 2012, following an increase of 4.9 percent (revised) in the first quarter of 2012.By comparison, real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 1.3 percent during the second quarter.
•
Tourism
Spending. The deceleration in real tourism spending primarily
reflected a downturn in passenger air transportation, which decreased
3.6 percent in the second quarter of 2012 after increasing 9.8
percent in the first quarter. Real spending on traveler
accommodations decelerated, increasing 3.8 percent in the second
quarter after increasing 5.9 percent in the first quarter.
•
Tourism
Prices. Prices for tourism goods and services decelerated in the
second quarter, primarily reflecting a decline in gasoline
prices that
resulted in a decline in the prices for “all other
transportation-related commodities.” In addition, prices for
passenger air transportation decelerated, reflecting a decline
in fuel
prices. In
contrast, prices for traveler accommodations accelerated, increasing
8.7 percent in the second quarter after increasing 6.3 percent in the
first quarter.
•
Tourism
Employment. Employment
in the travel and
tourism industries increased 1.1 percent in the second quarter of
2012 after increasing 2.6 percent in the first quarter. The largest
increase was in traveler accommodations, which increased 2.1 percent
in the second quarter after increasing 0.3 percent in the first
quarter. That increase was partially offset by a downturn in
recreation and entertainment employment.
The
Bureau of Economic
Analysis, through funding provided by the Office
of Travel and Tourism Industries,International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce,
produces the U.S Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts
(TTSAs) from which these estimates were
derived.
Travel and
Tourism Satellite Accounts form an indispensable statistical
instrument that allows the United
States to measure the relative size and importance
of the travel and tourism industry, along with its
contribution to gross domestic product (GDP).
Approved
by the United Nations in March 2002 and endorsed by the U.N.
Statistical Commission, TTSAs have become the international standard
by which travel and tourism is measured. In fact, more than
fifty countries aroundthe
world have embraced travel and tourism
satellite accounting as the only comprehensive, comparable, and
credible measure of travel and tourism and its impact on
national economies.
For
more information on TTSAs, please
visit: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/research/programs/satellite/index.html