We usually focus on travel outside of the United States. International travel and all of the documents that go along with it are, after all, our business. But today we thought we’d take a moment to look at what’s happening with US travel.
How many people are visiting the United States? How much does domestic tourism affect our economy? What are the most popular places to visit in America? Read on to peruse some of the most interesting US travel statistics that we found from the US Travel Association:
- $2.3 trillion – That’s how much money the US travel industry generated for our economy in 2016, including direct, indirect, and induced spending.
- 1 in 9 – That’s how many US jobs rely on travel or tourism. Altogether, that’s 2.6 million jobs related to business travel and six million jobs related to leisure travel. An additional 6.7 million jobs indirectly relate to travel and tourism.
- 6 million – The number of international arrivals to the United States in 2016. About half of those arrivals came from overseas.
- $683.1 billion – That’s how much domestic and international travelers spent on leisure travel in the United States last year. All of that spending generated over $106 billion in tax revenue for the US. If you took that revenue away, every US household would have to pay an additional $1,250 in taxes to make up for the loss.
- 4 million – That’s the number of business trips that Americans took in 2016. Collectively, over $307 billion were spent on those trips. According to a 2012 study, every dollar spent on business travel results in $9.50 in increased revenue and $2.90 in new profits for the business.
- Boosted Labor Day – It was projected that Labor Day air travel would be up this year compared to last year thanks to low ticket prices and a generally strong economy.
- Popular Destinations – According to the 2017 Traveler’s Choice Awards, the top destination in the US to visit is New York City. NYC took the honor for the seventh straight year. But a great argument can be made for Hawaii. The island state took the second, third, and fourth place slots with different destinations. Other top destinations included Washington, DC; New Orleans; San Diego; Chicago; Orlando; and Las Vegas.
Wherever your travels take you, don’t forget that we can help you with expedited passports, expedited visas, and all sorts of friendly travel tips. Contact Swift to get your travel questions answered and find fast solutions to your travel doc emergencies.
