Tourism recovery for USA almost complete
International visitor numbers to the US will break records in 2007 and mark a complete post-9/11 tourism recovery, according to US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez.
Arrivals dropped 17 percent after 9/11 from their 51.2 million visitor high, but 2006 saw figures back up to 51.1 million and trends suggest visitor growth in 2007 will climb way beyond the 2001 level.
The 2006 figures were up four percent on 2005 and Gutierrez predicts the trend will continue – with a 21 percent increase in the number of travellers to the United States over the next five years.
“International travel to the United States continues to show growth over growth as it reaches near record highs in the number of international visitors to our country,” Gutierrez said.
Canadian travellers currently make up the largest percentage of international visitors to the United States, with the number of people visiting from north of the border up by eight percent between 2005 and 2006, to 16 million. Mexicans make up the second largest group of international visitors.
Gutierrez believes that future growth in US tourism will come primarily from beyond North America. The Commerce Department predicts the number of visitors from China will increase by 60 percent, while those arriving from both India and Brazil will increase by 28 percent, over the next five years.
Visitors from the UK are also expected to pay more visits to the United States, said the Commerce Secretary.
Comments
Leave a Reply