Published on : Saturday, May 25, 2019
This has given rise to fears among the country’s tourism chiefs that the US will lose out to rival destinations this year.
Tourism also declined in February, although by a more modest 0.2 per cent.
“The outlook for international inbound travel remains lacklustre, suggesting that a further loss of global market share is in the cards for the US in 2019,” said David Huether, Senior Vice President for Research at US Travel, the industry trade association.
Tourism is very important to the US economy, representing 11 per cent of the country’s total trade surplus of $77.4 billion.
Last year, international tourism brought in $197 billion for the US economy.
The economic value of tourism was recognized by the Obama administration, which passed the Travel Promotion Act to boost the industry.
Tourism slumped after Donald Trump’s election, with visitors being put off by the rhetoric coming from the White House and a ban people from several Muslim majority countries.
As per statistics by Customs and Border Protection, just over 279,036 people were denied entry into the US at ports of entry in 2018 compared to 216,370 in 2017. So far this year, 163,377 have been turned away.
However, there are other factors underpinning the disappointing numbers, including the strength of the dollar which has made US holidays more expensive.
Tags: US