News Release
Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts, 4th Quarter and Annual 2008
(SEE THE BOX NEXT RELEASE)
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CONTINUED DECLINE IN TOURISM SPENDING IN FOURTH QUARTER 2008
Current-dollar spending on travel and tourism (spending not adjusted for price changes) declined at an annual rate of 22.2 percent in 2008:4 after increasing 1.3 percent (revised) in 2008:3. Travel and tourism prices turned down sharply, declining 16.0 percent in 2008:4 following an 11.6 percent (revised) increase in 2008:3. As a result, real spending (spending adjusted for price changes) declined 7.2 percent in 2008:4 after decreasing 9.2 percent (revised) in 2008:3. For the year 2008, real travel and tourism spending decreased 0.4 percent, the first yearly decline since 2001.
- Passenger air transportation continued to contract—decreasing 13.0 percent in 2008:4 after decreasing 20.0 percent (revised) in 2008:3. Real spending on domestic flights declined for the fifth consecutive quarter; however, real spending on international flights rose a modest 1.0 percent after a sharp decline of 35.4 percent in the previous quarter.
- Spending on accommodations posted a larger decrease—10.1 percent in 2008:4 after a 3.1 percent (revised) decrease in 2008:3. The hotel industry continued to experience declines in demand as business travel waned and individuals shifted their stays to budget accommodations.
- Retail shopping by travelers also fell further, decreasing 11.6 percent in 2008:4 after decreasing 6.9 percent in 2008:3.
Transportation prices plummeted in 2008:4—decreasing 35.4 percent after increasing 21.0 percent (revised). Auto travelers and tourists paid significantly less for gasoline at the pump. For the year 2008, prices increased 1.7 percent after increasing 3.6 percent in 2007.
Employment supported directly by tourist spending fell 2.4 percent in 2008:3 (the most recent period for which data are available)1. The decline remained widespread. In 2008:2, employment fell by 1.2 percent. By comparison, overall U.S. employment decreased 1.5 percent in 2008:3 and decreased 1.3 percent (revised) in 2008:2.
Total Tourism-Related Spending. The U.S. production that tourism spending generates not only includes the goods and services that are purchased directly, but also the inputs used to produce these goods and services—indirect tourism-related spending. In 2008:4, total current-dollar tourism-related spending of $1.3 trillion consisted of $749.0 billion (57 percent) of direct tourism spending—goods and services sold directly to visitors—and $575.4 billion (43 percent) of indirect tourism-related spending—goods and services used to produce what visitors buy.
Total Tourism-Related Employment. In 2008:3, total tourism-related employment of 8.6 million consisted of 5.9 million (69 percent) direct tourism jobs—jobs where workers produce goods and services sold directly to visitors—and 2.7 million (31 percent) indirect tourism-related jobs—jobs where workers produce goods and services used to produce what visitors buy.
1 Employment statistics are based on the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment statistics for 2008:4 will be available in BEA’s Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts’ June 16, 2009 press release.
Definitions
Quarterly estimates are seasonally adjusted and expressed at annual rates, unless otherwise specified. Percent changes are calculated from unrounded data and annualized. Real estimates are in chained (2000) dollars. Price indexes are chain-type measures. Growth in overall U.S. employment is calculated using BLS Total nonfarm employment from Current Employment Statistics, www.bls.gov/ces/home.htm#data.
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Next release – Travel and Tourism estimates for first quarter 2009 will be released on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
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