The release cycle for the In-Flight Survey has varied dramatically over the years. This is partially due to the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries' (OTTI) dependence upon the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) I-94 and I-92 data. Unfortunately, there is no other source for the information provided in the I-94 and I-92 data. These databases are required to ensure the survey data collected is truly representative of the total overseas and Mexico (air travelers only) traveler patterns to and from the United States. Because of the voluntary airline participation and sample sizes of the program, the data must be weighted. Each year, OTTI compares the un-weighted data and to the weighted results. Without the weighting, the estimates generated from this survey would distort the destinations visited, country of origin and port-of-entry data.

When OTTI releases the data, it is divided to report on the two different populations surveyed:

All non-resident inbound overseas visitors, and the Mexico visitors to the U.S. via air only,

OR:

U.S. resident outbound travelers to overseas destinations and U.S. residents to Mexican destinations via air.

The two subsets of the data release schedules are as follows:

Non-Resident Inbound Reports:

The four different types of non-resident inbound reports are: quarterly, annual, country and custom reports/data. Each has its own release cycle. The data that are posted to the OTTI website are released first. Once the data is issued on the website, custom reports/data files may be released to clients. Then, one month after the dates listed below, OTTI can (or has) mailed the annual In-Flight Survey reports to subscribers.

• The 1995 annual inbound In-Flight Survey data was released in July 1996
• The 1996 annual inbound In-Flight Survey data was released in January 1998
• The 1997 annual inbound In-Flight Survey data was released in early June 1998.
• The 1998 annual inbound In-Flight Survey data was released in mid May 1999.
• The 1999 annual inbound In-Flight Survey data was released in early May 2000.
• The 2000 annual inbound In-Flight Survey data was released in late June 2001
• The 2001 annual inbound In-Flight Survey data was released in April 2003. *
• The 2002 annual inbound In-Flight Survey data was released in May 2003.
• The 2003 annual inbound In-Flight Survey data was released in April 2004.
• The 2004 annual inbound In-Flight Survey data was released in June 2004.
• The 2005 annual inbound In-Flight Survey data was released in May 2006.
• The 2006 annual inbound In-Flight Survey data was released in June 2007.
• The 2007 annual inbound In-Flight Survey data was released in May 2008.
• The 2008 annual inbound In-Flight Survey data was released in May 2009.

OTTI hopes to continue releasing non-resident inbound data on a timely basis.

* The release of the 2001 data was delayed due to the change in policy at DHS in which transit passengers were added to the monthly I-94 database. OTTI has removed the transit passengers so that the current data is directly comparable to the past results.

Quarterly inbound reports will be released one month after receipt and processing of the quarterly I-94 data. The 2007 I-94 data is usually received three months after the month reported (i.e. the December data would be issued in March of the following year).

Custom reports or data are released as processed, but processing does not start until the annual data is issued. The data and custom reports are released one month before the printed reports are issued as it takes time to obtain the annual inbound reports from a contract printer.

The annual inbound country reports are released at the same time the annual inbound report is issued. If everything goes as planned, the annual 2007 inbound data should be released in May 2008.

U.S. Resident Outbound Reports:

The four different types of U.S. resident outbound reports are: quarterly, annual, country and custom reports/data. Each has its own release cycle, similar to the inbound reports. Below are the release dates for the annual U.S. outbound estimates:

• The 1995 annual outbound In-Flight Survey data was released in July 1996
• The 1996 annual outbound In-Flight Survey data was released in December 1997
• The 1997 annual outbound In-Flight Survey data was released in July 1998.
• The 1998 annual outbound In-Flight Survey data was released in September 1999
• The 1999 annual outbound In-Flight Survey data was released in October 2000
• The 2000 annual outbound In-Flight Survey data was released in October 2001.
• The 2001 annual outbound In-Flight Survey data was released in January 2003.
• The 2002 annual outbound In-Flight Survey data was released in July 2003
• The 2003 annual outbound In-Flight Survey data was released in December 2004.
• The 2004 annual outbound In-Flight Survey data was released in August 2005.
• The 2005 annual outbound In-Flight Survey data was released in September 2006
• The 2006 annual outbound In-Flight Survey data was released in August 2007
• The 2007 annual outbound In-Flight Survey data was released in June 2008
• The 2008 annual outbound In-Flight Survey data was released in June 2009

OTTI hopes to continue to improve upon the release data of the annual outbound data.

Quarterly outbound reports will be released one month after receipt and processing of the quarterly plus the following month of the I-92 data (i.e. April, July, October, and January). The extra month is needed because of late records for the previous month that is provided on the following month's data file, although late records still occur two months after the reported month. This means that in order to have all of the data for the entire quarter or the annual report, TI must wait for the following two months of I-92 data to process the quarterly and annual U.S. outbound data. The monthly I-92 data is normally received three-four months after the month reported.