TInews Archive #20030603.html

Date:	Tues, 3 June 2003
From:	TInews Announcement <announce@tinet.ita.doc.gov>
To:	TInews Announcement <tiannounce@tinet.ita.doc.gov>
Subject:	Top Destinations Visited by Overseas Travelers in 2002

=== TINEWS ===================================

An information service from Office of Travel & Tourism Industries
http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/
U.S. International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce

6/03/03

Top Destinations Visited by Overseas Travelers in 2002

The Office of Travel & Tourism Industries has just released the 2002 destinations visited estimates by overseas travelers to the top states and cities. To see the only source of comparable, comprehensive overseas, world region and country specific visitation estimates for travel to the states and cities in 2002, please visit (OTTI) web site at: http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/

This information is your starting point to understanding what happened to the market in 2002. Visitation estimates for overseas travelers (excluding Canada and Mexico) are provided for 39 states and 60 cities. In 2002, the United States saw declines in arrivals for the second straight year. The declines at the national level had a dramatic impact on the overseas visitation to the states and cities. The declines were not all equal as numerous states and cities saw declines either greater or lesser than the national average.

The top states/territories visited by overseas travelers in 2002 were: New York, Florida, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam, Illinois, Massachusetts, Texas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. To see the market share, volume estimate and percentage change in the market for 2001 and 2002, please visit OTTI’s web site at: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/cat/f-2002-45-540.html

The top cities/islands visited by overseas travelers in 2002 were: New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, San Francisco, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Washington DC, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, and San Diego. To see the market share, volume estimate and percentage change in the market for 2001 and 2002, please visit OTTI’s web site at: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/cat/f-2002-45-561.html

To understand why certain states and/or cities had increases or declines, you need to look at the composition of the markets that generated visitors to each destination. If states and cities relied upon markets that were in decline to the United States, it had an impact on their visitation estimates. Furthermore, changes in the business versus leisure mix or the package versus independent traveler volume from a specific market to the particular destination also influences whether or not a state or city experienced an increase or decline in visitation. To see the visitation estimates for the top nine world regions and 22 countries visit OTTI’s web site at: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/outreachpages/index.html

When you reach this page, select a region or country and click on it. Then scroll down until you find the regional profile or market profile of interest. Click on the profile you wish to view and you will see the 2001 and 2002 visitation estimates for the top states and cities, as estimates are available, and selected traveler characteristics. By viewing shifts in the characteristics of the travelers, you will obtain further insights into what has happened to each market.

This week, an analysis of the top destinations visited for 2002 will be posted, so please check the site for these insights.

This analysis provides some additional insights into the general shifts seen between 2001 and 2002. For more customized insights into the international visitor, the In-Flight Survey of International Air Travelers database has information for specific states and cities and by market. There are 35 different traveler characteristics of the overseas visitor. By sub-setting the data for your destination, you will obtain a detailed profile of your visitor. The more you know about the traveler who spent some time in your state or city, the better job you can do to provide the visitor with the experience they want. The more you can provide the visitor with an experience they want, the chances for a satisfactory experience increase, and satisfied visitors causes repeat visitors. To see the profile of the average overseas visitor to the country, go to: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/view/f-2002-07-001/index.html

To obtain a custom report from OTTI In-Flight Survey database, go to: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/research/programs/ifs/customized.html

Further data are available from OTTI by purchasing the annual 2002 In-Flight Survey report. To obtain the annual 2000 In-Flight Survey report, go to: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/research/reports/ifs/index.html

OTTI recommends you consider purchasing this report as well. It will allow you to do a comparison of the visitors to the country and then compare it to the profiles to a specific state or city. This comparison will help you define how your destination is unique or how you will need to approach the market differently because the profile of the travelers to your destination are different than the average for the country. If you have any questions about OTTI programs or this data, please contact us at: tinet_info@ita.doc.gov

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Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 7025

Washington, D.C. 20230
(202) 482-0140, fax: (202) 482-2887
e-mail: tinet_info@ita.doc.gov

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