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Travel and Tourism
Travel and tourism satellite account for 2018-2022.
The travel and tourism industry—as measured by the real output of goods and services sold directly to visitors—increased 21.0 percent in 2022 after increasing 53.6 percent in 2021, according to the most recent statistics from BEA’s Travel and Tourism Satellite Account.
Data & Articles
- U.S. Travel and Tourism Satellite Account for 2018–2022 By Hunter Arcand and Paul Kern - Survey of Current Business April 2024
- "U.S. Travel and Tourism Satellite Account for 2015–2019" By Sarah Osborne - Survey of Current Business December 2020
- "U.S. Travel and Tourism Satellite Account for 2015-2017" By Sarah Osborne and Seth Markowitz - Survey of Current Business June 2018
- Tourism Satellite Accounts 1998-2019
- Tourism Satellite Accounts Data A complete set of detailed annual statistics for 2017-2021 is coming soon -->
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Previously Published Estimates
- Data Archive This page provides access to an archive of estimates previously published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Please note that this archive is provided for research only. The estimates contained in this archive include revisions to prior estimates and may not reflect the most recent revision for a particular period.
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What is Travel and Tourism?
Measures how much tourists spend and the prices they pay for lodging, airfare, souvenirs, and other travel-related items. These statistics also provide a snapshot of employment in the travel and tourism industries.
What’s a Satellite Account?
- TTSA Sarah Osborne (301) 278-9459
- News Media Connie O'Connell (301) 278-9003 [email protected]
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Fact sheet: 2022 national travel and tourism strategy, office of public affairs.
The 2022 National Travel and Tourism Strategy was released on June 6, 2022, by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo on behalf of the Tourism Policy Council (TPC). The new strategy focuses the full efforts of the federal government to promote the United States as a premier destination grounded in the breadth and diversity of our communities, and to foster a sector that drives economic growth, creates good jobs, and bolsters conservation and sustainability. Drawing on engagement and capabilities from across the federal government, the strategy aims to support broad-based economic growth in travel and tourism across the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia.
The federal government will work to implement the strategy under the leadership of the TPC and in partnership with the private sector, aiming toward an ambitious five-year goal of increasing American jobs by attracting and welcoming 90 million international visitors, who we estimate will spend $279 billion, annually by 2027.
The new National Travel and Tourism Strategy supports growth and competitiveness for an industry that, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, generated $1.9 trillion in economic output and supported 9.5 million American jobs. Also, in 2019, nearly 80 million international travelers visited the United States and contributed nearly $240 billion to the U.S. economy, making the United States the global leader in revenue from international travel and tourism. As the top services export for the United States that year, travel and tourism generated a $53.4 billion trade surplus and supported 1 million jobs in the United States.
The strategy follows a four-point approach:
- Promoting the United States as a Travel Destination Goal : Leverage existing programs and assets to promote the United States to international visitors and broaden marketing efforts to encourage visitation to underserved communities.
- Facilitating Travel to and Within the United States Goal : Reduce barriers to trade in travel services and make it safer and more efficient for visitors to enter and travel within the United States.
- Ensuring Diverse, Inclusive, and Accessible Tourism Experiences Goal : Extend the benefits of travel and tourism by supporting the development of diverse tourism products, focusing on under-served communities and populations. Address the financial and workplace needs of travel and tourism businesses, supporting destination communities as they grow their tourism economies. Deliver world-class experiences and customer service at federal lands and waters that showcase the nation’s assets while protecting them for future generations.
- Fostering Resilient and Sustainable Travel and Tourism Goal : Reduce travel and tourism’s contributions to climate change and build a travel and tourism sector that is resilient to natural disasters, public health threats, and the impacts of climate change. Build a sustainable sector that integrates protecting natural resources, supporting the tourism economy, and ensuring equitable development.
Travel and Tourism Fast Facts
- The travel and tourism industry supported 9.5 million American jobs through $1.9 trillion of economic activity in 2019. In fact, 1 in every 20 jobs in the United States was either directly or indirectly supported by travel and tourism. These jobs can be found in industries like lodging, food services, arts, entertainment, recreation, transportation, and education.
- Travel and tourism was the top services export for the United States in 2019, generating a $53.4 billion trade surplus.
- The travel and tourism industry was one of the U.S. business sectors hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent health and travel restrictions, with travel exports decreasing nearly 65% from 2019 to 2020.
- The decline in travel and tourism contributed heavily to unemployment; leisure and hospitality lost 8.2 million jobs between February and April 2020 alone, accounting for 37% of the decline in overall nonfarm employment during that time.
- By 2021, the rollout of vaccines and lifting of international and domestic restrictions allowed travel and tourism to begin its recovery. International arrivals to the United States grew to 22.1 million in 2021, up from 19.2 million in 2020. Spending by international visitors also grew, reaching $81.0 billion, or 34 percent of 2019’s total.
More about the Tourism Policy Council and the 2022 National Travel and Tourism Strategy
Created by Congress and chaired by Secretary Raimondo, the Tourism Policy Council (TPC) is the interagency council charged with coordinating national policies and programs relating to travel and tourism. At the direction of Secretary Raimondo, the TPC created a new five-year strategy to focus U.S. government efforts in support of the travel and tourism sector which has been deeply and disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the full strategy here
By Bastian Herre, Veronika Samborska and Max Roser
Tourism has massively increased in recent decades. Aviation has opened up travel from domestic to international. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of international visits had more than doubled since 2000.
Tourism can be important for both the travelers and the people in the countries they visit.
For visitors, traveling can increase their understanding of and appreciation for people in other countries and their cultures.
And in many countries, many people rely on tourism for their income. In some, it is one of the largest industries.
But tourism also has externalities: it contributes to global carbon emissions and can encroach on local environments and cultures.
On this page, you can find data and visualizations on the history and current state of tourism across the world.
Interactive Charts on Tourism
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Travel and Tourism Research
National travel and tourism research.
The National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) functions as the U.S. federal tourism office. A core responsibility is to collect, analyze, and disseminate international travel and tourism statistics. As a result, NTTO is charged with managing, improving, and expanding the system to fully account and report the impact of travel and tourism in the United States.
Contact the Research Team
For updates and news on the Travel Industry, explore our TI News Page .
Interim Study and Report to Congress on the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Travel and Tourism Industry in the United States
Prepared in Response to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117-328).
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Interested in a customizable visual summary of our country market profiles showcasing myriad country-specific statistics from travel volume and top ports of entry to visitor spending and purpose of trip ?
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UN Tourism | Bringing the world closer
Statistics of tourism, tourism statistics database, share this content.
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UN Tourism systematically collects tourism statistics from countries and territories around the world in an extensive database that provides the most comprehensive repository of statistical information available on the tourism sector. This database consists mainly of more than 145 tourism indicators that are updated regularly. You can explore the data available through the UN Tourism database below:
145 Key Tourism Statistics
Data on inbound, outbound and domestic tourism, international tourism flows, tourism industries, employment and other indicators.
Economic Contribution and the SDGs
Data on the economic contribution of tourism and the implementation of relevant standards, such as the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) and the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA).
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