U.S. Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts: Second Quarter 2010
November 6, 2010 - The U.S. Department of Commerce recently announced that total U.S. travel and tourism employment increased by 2.2 percent during the second quarter, marking the first increase in tourism-related employment since the first quarter of 2008.
- Tourism Spending. Real spending (adjusted for changes in price) on travel and tourism increased at an annual rate of 3.0 percent in Q2 2010, following an increase of 5.0 percent (revised) in Q1 2010. By comparison, real gross domestic product increased 1.7 percent in Q2 2010 after increasing 3.7 percent in Q1 2010.
- Tourism Prices. Prices for passenger air transportation continued their strong growth, rising 16.0 percent in Q2 2010. Prices for traveler accommodations showed a sharp upturn, too, increasing 19.0 percent in Q2 2010 after decreasing 6.4 percent in Q1 2010.
- Tourism Employment. Total travel and tourism employment rose 2.2 percent in Q2 2010 — the first increase since Q1 2008. Employment in traveler accommodations increased 4.7 percent in Q2 2010 after two straight years of decline.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis, through funding provided by the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, produces the U.S Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts (TTSAs) from which these estimates were derived.
Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts form an indispensable statistical instrument that allows the United States to measure the relative size and importance of the travel and tourism industry, along with its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP).
Approved by the United Nations in March 2002 and endorsed by the U.N. Statistical Commission, TTSAs have become the international standard by which travel and tourism is measured. In fact, more than fifty countries around the world have embraced travel and tourism satellite accounting as the only comprehensive, comparable, and credible measure of travel and tourism and its impact on national economies.
For more information on TTSAs, please visit:
www.bea.gov/industry/iedguide.htm#ttsa_ou.
To view the Q1 2010 release in its entirety, visit:
www.bea.gov/newsreleases/industry/tourism/2010/tour110.htm
Media Contact:
U.S. Office of Travel and Tourism Industries
[email protected]
(202) 482-0140