In an early release, the U.S. Department of Commerce announces the top states, cities, and territories benefiting from overseas travelers to the United States as follows:
In 2007, overseas arrivals to the United States posted a 10 percent growth rate. For the sixth straight year New York State was the top destination visited by these overseas travelers. California held the second position, followed by Florida, which also realized double-digit growth. Hawaii, Nevada, Massachusetts and Illinois all followed the top 3 states visited. Double-digit increases were experienced in 2007 by six of the 18 states/territories qualifying for reporting visitation estimates. New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut set records for visitation in 2007.
The top cities visited by overseas travelers in 2007 were: New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, Orlando, Las Vegas, Honolulu, and Washington DC. Of the 19 city visitation estimates issued, six posted double-digit increases. New York City continued its top spot and has posted growth for the fourth straight year. There were numerous shifts between 2006 and 2007 among the top cities visited. New York City and Philadelphia set new visitation records in 2007, and only two cities registered declines. To view the top states and cities visited by overseas travelers, go to: Top States and Cities for International Travel.
This year, The Office of Travel & Tourism Industries (OTTI) reported more destinations, countries, and showcased a new format for the reports, all based on the largest sample of overseas and Mexican air travelers since 1999 (37 percent above the 2006 level alone). This sample improvement enables better analyses of the shifts occurring in the international marketplace. These changes, in turn, impact the destinations visited. To view the market share, volume estimates and percentage change for overseas travelers to the U.S. for 2006 and 2007, please visit OTTI’s web site at: Overseas Travelers 2006 and 2007.
The 2007 overseas traveler profile may be viewed at Overseas Visitor Profiles and it illustrates the 35 traveler characteristics data that is available for a travel or census region, state, city, airport, industry sector (hotels, rental cars, credit card use, specific activities), or airline1. Included are: trip planning factors, the purpose of trip (business and/or leisure), whether a tour package was used, the proportion of first time vs. repeat travelers to the country, transportation used while within the country, demographics (age, gender, occupation type, income), activities and expenditures.
For information on the research programs that were used to generate the market intelligence issued, see the publications section and custom reports section in the Research Programs area of the Survey of International Air Travelers (In-Flight Survey Program), at: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/research/programs/ifs/index.html
If you have any questions or need any additional information concerning the visitation estimates, please contact OTTI.
1 No carrier specific data will be released by anyone except to the airline’s own management.
