Traveling on Your Mind? The U.S. Travel and Tourism Industry is Eager to Welcome You to the United States
March 11, 2021Isabel Hill serves as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Travel and Tourism for ITA’s National Travel and Tourism Office
We miss traveling too. Whether you are seeking beaches, mountains, big city towers, or national parks, America offers many exciting destinations for tourists. And let’s face it: Bucket lists have only grown during quarantine. In 2020 we estimate international visitation to the United States declined 76% while the share of global travelers planning a vacation fell to a record low.
Fortunately, brighter days seem to be ahead for the U.S. travel and tourism industry as COVID-19 vaccination rates are on the rise. Many U.S. destinations have worked for months to implement health and safety measures and are starting to launch marketing and promotion campaigns to attract new and returning visitors after such a hard year.
To help U.S. businesses and communities who rely on tourism plan ahead, the International Trade Administration last week launched the COVID-19 Travel Industry Monitor–a user-friendly web platform that brings key health, economic and travel data all together in one place. The Monitor tracks a number of indicators important for the performance of the travel and tourism sector in the United States in the wake of the pandemic, including: COVID-19 Cases, International Visitation, Travel Indicators, Travel in Trade, Business and Consumer Sentiment, and Key Economic Indicators.
The data displayed in the Monitor is derived from existing data sources from federal, state and local agencies, as well as private sector entities. The Monitor is updated weekly, though many data sets are dependent on monthly data that takes a few weeks to process. Data on the dashboard today dates from January 2021.
I would like to thank the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board and the other industry stakeholders and data partners who provided tremendous input for this Monitor. To access the Monitor, click: https://www.trade.gov/data-visualization/covid-19-travel-industry-monitor
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