Big Shift Coming: International Visitor Spending Rises But So Does U.S. Domestic Travel Dependence
Photo Credit: Travelers enjoy the sights from the 1 World Trade Center Observatory in New York City. International visitor spending in the U.S. is up even with several unfavorable exchange rates for visitors. Skift / Dan Peltier
Skift Take
Many foreign currencies may not be as strong against the U.S. dollar as in years' past but the exchange rate is still favorable for many of the international travelers visiting the U.S. The overall increase in international visitor spending certainly helps but researchers feel domestic U.S. traveler spending will become even more essential for the rest of the year.
A stronger U.S. dollar apparently means more spending to many of the international travelers who've visited the U.S. so far this year -- about $3 billion more.
But while that rise in spending by international travelers occurred in the first half of 2016, David Huether, vice president of research for the U.S. Travel Association, says the U.S. travel industry will become more dependent on domestic tourists for the remainder of the year.
The latest data from the National Travel and Tourism Office show international travelers have spent $125.3 billion on travel to the U.S. between January and June 2016. That amount includes airfare, accommodations and other in-destination spending. The 2.4 percent increase in spending over the same period last year comes even as international arrivals ha
