TI News: An information service from Office of Travel & Tourism Industries (OTTI)

May 8, 2006

2005 State, City Visitation and Traveler Characteristics Data Released

The Office of Travel & Tourism Industries (OTTI) has released the 2005 data on international travel to the USA in time for POW WOW in Orlando. Some of the key findings include:

In 2005, New York continued to outpace California and Florida as the top states/territories visited by overseas travelers. California surpassed Florida in 2005 with its double digit increase compared to a small decline in Florida. These three states were followed by: Hawaii, Nevada, and Illinois. To see the market share, volume estimate and percentage change for overseas travelers to the U.S. for 2004 and 2005, please visit OTTI's web site at: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/cat/f-2005-45-541.html

The top cities visited by overseas travelers in 2005 were: New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Orlando, Honolulu, and Las Vegas. To see the market share, volume estimate, percentage change and shifts in the rankings for 2004 and 2005, please visit OTTI's web site at: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/cat/f-2005-45-562.html

To see the only comparable, comprehensive source for visitation estimates on overseas, world regions and countries for the states and cities in 2005, as well as other new data available on the international travel market, and updated information on our research programs, please visit the OTTI web site at: http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/

Visitation estimates for overseas travelers are provided for 30 states and 49 cities. 2005 marks the second straight year for increased overseas arrivals to the U.S., and the second highest arrival total ever registered by this country. The increases in visitation to the states and cities were not the same across the board as some destinations did not see increases in 2005. The estimates provided by OTTI on travelers to the U.S. includes business and leisure visitors, package and independent, as well as first time and repeat travelers to the country.

To understand why certain states and/or cities posted increases or declines, one will need to analyze the composition of the origin markets that generated visitors to each destination. If key countries for a destination registered slower growth or declines in travel to the United States, it probably had an impact on visitation. Furthermore, changes in key traveler characteristics like the business versus leisure mix, or the number of destinations visited, their use of transportation while within the country, when combined with the volume from a specific market to the particular destination may also influence visitation. To see the state and city visitation estimates for the top nine world regions and 20 plus countries and the analyses developed for destinations visited in 2005 as they come available, go to the OTTI's web site at: http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/outreachpages/index.html

U.S. Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
Office of Travel and Tourism Industries
14th & Constitution Avenue NW, Room 1003
Washington, D.C. 20230
Phone:(202) 482-0140
Fax: (202) 482-2887
Email: Tinet_info@ita.doc.gov