International travelers spent nearly $12 Billion in the U.S. in September
"Travel and tourism continues to be one of the bright spots in our economy," Locke said. "Continued growth in the tourism sector will help us achieve our goal of doubling exports over the next several years."
- Travel Receipts: Purchases of travel and tourism-related goods and services by international visitors traveling in the United States totaled $9.0 billion during September, an increase of 15 percent when compared to last year. These goods and services include food, lodging, recreation, gifts, entertainment, local transportation in the United States, and other items incidental to foreign travel.
- Passenger Fare Receipts: Fares received by U.S. carriers (and U.S. vessel operators) from international visitors increased by nearly 27 percent to $2.7 billion for the month, an increase of $575 million when compared to September 2009.
Americans have spent nearly $77.4 billion abroad year to date (up 4%) - resulting in a $22.6 billion trade surplus for travel and tourism through the first nine months of 2010.
Source: Office of Travel & Tourism Industries (OTTI)