Visa Reports Rise in U.S. Tourism Spend in 2008, Decline in 2009

Despite a challenging environment, spending by visitors to the U.S. increased to $52 billion in 2008, up $7 billion from 2007, as measured by spending on Visa-branded payments cards by international visitors.

At the same time, Americans exercised a similar desire for international travel, spending $42.4 billion on their Visa cards abroad in 2008, up 3 percent from 2007. This is according to Tourism Outlook: USA, a new report released by Visa Inc.

While there is continued interest in international travel, both U.S. inbound and outbound spending declined between January and March 2009 compared with the same period in 2008.

Despite this, nearly half of Americans surveyed (47 percent) said the economic environment has not impacted their desire to travel outside the U.S., and 18 percent are even more willing to travel internationally. However, 83 percent plan to modify their travel plans based on the economic environment.

Nearly half of respondents (46 percent) plan to travel during the off-peak season to take advantage of lower prices, while 31 percent plan on traveling closer to home. The Visa Tourism Outlook survey evaluated travel intentions and attitudes among 5,539 travelers in 11 nations, including the U.S., who have traveled internationally in the past two years.

While consumer research indicates that Americans remain determined to travel in 2009, the desire for more value and economic concerns have likely impacted tourism spending during early 2009.

Visa Inc. saw a decline in tourism spending by U.S. travelers abroad in the first three months of 2009 compared with one year ago. From Jan. 1 to March 31, 2009, spending by U.S. travelers abroad on their Visa cards was down 9 percent, at $9.3 billion compared with $10.2 billion during the same period in 2008.

In comparison, for the calendar year 2008, spending by American travelers abroad totaled $42.4 billion, up 3 percent from 20074. Canada ($5.5 billion), the United Kingdom ($4.4 billion), Mexico ($3.5 billion), Germany ($1.6 billion), France ($1.6 billion) and Italy ($1.5 billion) were the most popular destinations for Americans in 2008, as measured by spending on Visa payment cards.

The United Arab Emirates recorded significant year-over-year growth, with U.S. visitors spending $732.6 million on their Visa cards in 2008, up 85 percent from 2007. Consistent with 2007 and 2008 spending trends, and the desire to reduce costs by traveling closer to home, Mexico and Canada ranked in the top five international destinations among U.S. survey respondents for the second year, along with the U.K., the Caribbean and Italy.