Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Travel and Tourism Satellite Account (TTSA).
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 around the 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.
