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Travel and Tourism Research

National travel and tourism research.

The National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) functions as the U.S. federal tourism office. A core responsibility is to collect, analyze, and disseminate international travel and tourism statistics. As a result, NTTO is charged with managing, improving, and expanding the system to fully account and report the impact of travel and tourism in the United States.

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Interim Study and Report to Congress on the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Travel and Tourism Industry in the United States

Prepared in Response to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117-328).

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Secretary raimondo announces new national strategy to reenergize u.s. travel and tourism, office of public affairs.

Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo today announced a new National Travel and Tourism Strategy that focuses federal government efforts to support the U.S. travel and tourism industry and sets an ambitious five-year goal of attracting 90 million international visitors to the United States each year. It is estimated these visitors would spend $279 billion annually—expenditures that will support job creation in communities across the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia.

The Tourism Policy Council , a federal interagency council created by Congress, was charged by Secretary Raimondo with creating the strategy to focus U.S. government efforts in support of the travel and tourism sector which has been deeply and disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The strategy follows a four-point approach to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint, create safe and secure checkpoints, and bolster travel and tourism in underserved and underrepresented communities across the country.

Specifically, the strategy aims to: promote the United States as a premier travel destination, including broadening marketing efforts to encourage visitation to underserved and underrepresented communities; facilitate safe and efficient travel to and within the United States and its territories; ensure diverse and accessible tourism experiences with a focus on showcasing the nation’s federal lands and waters while also protecting them for future generations; and foster resilient and sustainable travel and tourism with goals to reduce the sectors’ contributions to climate change while rebuilding sectors that protect natural resources, support the tourism economy and ensure equitable development. Read the strategy and the fact sheet .

“Across all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia, communities are safely welcoming back visitors. From the crown jewels of our national parks and forests, to the historic and diverse sites that tell the story of our people and culture, the United States offers destinations for international travelers like no other,” said Secretary Raimondo. “The impact of COVID-19 has taken a toll on our national and local economies, but it also has presented us with a unique opportunity to mold a more inclusive, equitable, sustainable and resilient travel and tourism industry than ever before. Our new strategy leverages the best of what the U.S. public and private sectors offer, which will promote jobs, recover lost revenues, and inspire unforgettable experiences.”

The travel and tourism sector has historically been a critical force in economic growth and employment in the United States. When non-U.S. residents purchase goods and services while in the United States, it counts as export income for the U.S. economy.

In 2020, the Department’s  National Travel and Tourism Office  reported that the decline in travel and tourism to and within the United States accounted for 56% of the decline in U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), and travel exports dropped 65% in 2020 when compared to 2019, or pre-pandemic levels.

However, throughout 2021, as the Biden-Harris Administration implemented a robust vaccine rollout and effective travel policies centered around health and safety, along with lifting travel restrictions when it was safe to do so, monthly overseas arrivals to the United States increased from roughly 775,000 in October 2021 to more than 2 million in April 2022. As a result, international travel to the United States has generated a trade surplus in each of the past five months indicating a positive trend toward recovery even as international travel remains below pre-pandemic levels.

About the National Travel and Tourism Office The National Travel and Tourism Office, housed within the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, and led by the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis, is the federal government’s official source for U.S. travel and tourism statistics. For more information on the National Travel and Tourism Office statistics and research programs, including interactive data monitors, factsheets, and comprehensive downloads, please visit:   https://www.trade.gov/national-travel-and-tourism-office .

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Travel and tourism

The National Travel and Tourism Office , part of ITA, creates a positive climate for growth in travel and tourism by reducing institutional barriers to tourism, administers joint marketing efforts, provides official travel and tourism statistics, and coordinates efforts across federal agencies through the Tourism Policy Council. The Office works to enhance the international competitiveness of the U.S. travel and tourism industry and increase its exports, thereby creating U.S. employment and economic growth through:

• Management of the travel and tourism statistical system for assessing the economic contribution of the industry and providing the sole source for characteristic statistics on international travel to and from the United States;
• Design and administration of export expansion activities;
• Development and management of tourism policy, strategy and advocacy;
• Technical assistance for expanding this key export (international tourism) and assisting in domestic economic development

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Travel and tourism sector supports 7.8 million jobs and accounts for 2.8% of u.s gdp in 2018.

Remarks by Secretary Wilbur L. Ross at the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board

Remarks by secretary wilbur l. ross on capitol hill for the release of the outdoor recreation satellite account data, international visitors spend more than $20 billion in july, celebrating national travel and tourism week.

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Tradeology, the ITA Blog

Celebrate the power of travel during national travel and tourism week 2021.

Gina M. Raimondo is the U.S. Secretary of Commerce 

This post contains external links. Please review our  external linking policy .  

This post originally appeared on the  Department of Commerce blog .

Travel has the power to connect people with places and expose us to new cultures and ways of life. For well over a year, Americans made difficult decisions to forgo personal travel and business trips to protect ourselves, our families, friends, and communities from the COVID-19 pandemic. As we mark National Travel and Tourism Week (May 2-8, 2021), I am hopeful for the future as travelers who are fully vaccinated can begin to travel safely.  

The U.S. travel and tourism industry has been disproportionately affected by the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with small businesses that rely on new and returning visitors hit particularly hard. In 2020 employment in the travel-dependent leisure and hospitality sector declined by 3.3 million, accounting for more than a third (37%) of the overall decline in non-farm employment last year. At the same time, international visitation to the United States declined 76%.

In response to a deflated travel and tourism sector and its immense impact on our economy and people, the U.S. government and President Biden took swift and decisive action.  

President Biden’s American Rescue Plan will provide significant aid to communities that have suffered economic injury related to these declines. Specifically, $750 million has been allotted to the  Economic Development Administration  (EDA) for these states and communities hit hardest in the travel, tourism, or outdoor recreation sectors. Accordingly, I met with the  U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board  and heard its recommendations on initiatives to support leisure and business travel, including infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects that would be most impactful for these communities as they respond and recover from COVID-19.  

In addition, the International Trade Administration’s  National Travel and Tourism Office  (NTTO) has developed several new tools for the industry’s use, principal among them the  COVID-19 Travel Industry Monitor . The Monitor includes key indicators from the Small Business Pulse Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, and snapshot data in six key areas:  COVID-19, International Visitation, Trade in Travel, Key Economic Indicators, Travel Indicators, and Sentiment. More information on this useful tool can be found  here .  

We must reignite the travel and tourism industry, but we must do so safely and inclusively, working to provide equitable relief to Americans in every part of the country. National Travel and Tourism Week 2021 offers us a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come in the face of a global crisis and a chance to celebrate the power of travel to fill our souls and fuel our nation’s economic prosperity. Restoring Americans’ spirits and recovering our nation’s economy will not be possible without this important industry.  

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The United States National Tourism Office Travel and Tourism Indicators

The U.S. Department of Commerce, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of State prepare these performance indicators for international travel to the United States and for travel facilitation programs.

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