US international outbound travel was up 6% in 2018
US citizens are enjoying their travels more than ever before. According to the National Travel and Tourism Office and the US Travel Association, the numbers for both outbound and inbound departures are growing.
The number of outbound trips taken by US citizens increased by six per cent in 2018 compared to the year before. The overall annual total was a record 93 million travellers last year. 45 per cent of all US air travel was to overseas and 55 per cent to North American markets.
Air travel overseas saw the largest jump. In total, 41.8 million US travellers travelled across the ocean — up nine per cent for that year.
Europe was the most popular among US travellers to overseas — 17.7 million travelled there in 2018. This destination saw an increase of 12 per cent.
Europe’s runner-up was the Carribean, with a total of 8.3 million travellers to the area, and up five per cent. Among the less often visited regions, Oceania was the one to see the largest increase — 11 per cent.
US travel to North American markets was 51.3 million, up four per cent from 2017. Mexico welcomed the most US travellers — 36.9 million — up six per cent. Travel to Canada stayed the same. However, air travel to Canada was down by four per cent, with a total number of 14.3 million travellers.
The data was released by the National Travel and Tourism Office at the beginning of April. The Office provides official travel and tourism statistics and creates a positive climate for growth in travel and tourism.
International and domestic inbound travel expected to slow down
The latest #TravelTrendsIndex predicts a slowdown in both international and domestic travel growth. https://t.co/Ie7ddTR7ia
— U.S. Travel (@USTravel) April 3, 2019
According to the US Travel Association’s latest Travel Trends Index, travel to and within the US grew 2.6 per cent year-on-year in February. However, the index continues to project a slowdown in international and domestic inbound travel growth. It still expects both to grow, but at a moderate pace.
“Growth is expected to decelerate in the case of domestic travel while international inbound travel is projected to remain soft. This is consistent with an expectation of stable-yet-moderating economic growth both in the US and globally,” said David Huether, US Travel’s senior vice president for research.
