U.S. Tourism Industries Sales Grew 3.5 Percent In 2003
Total U.S. tourism industry sales grew at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in 2003, the first year of positive growth since 2000, according to preliminary data released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Total tourism sales grew in all four quarters of 2003, led by a third quarter increase of 17.7 percent.
Sales in the fourth quarter of 2003 totaled $740.6 billion, which approached the peak level of $746.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2000. Total sales increased 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003. In comparison, current dollar GDP grew 4.8 percent in 2003, 10.0 and 5.3 percent respectively in the third and fourth quarters of 2003.
–Two of the largest tourism industries–air transportation and eating and drinking places– led the growth in tourism sales in 2003:
–Direct tourism-related air transportation sales increased $2.7 billion in 2003, following marked declines of $15.7 billion and $9.8 billion in 2001 and 2002, respectively.
–Direct tourism-related sales of eating and drinking places recorded steady growth for a third straight year, increasing $4.4 billion in 2003, after growing $2.1 billion and $3.0 billion in 2001 and 2002, respectively.
–Taken together, the $2.7 billion growth in air transportation sales and the $4.4 billion increase in eating and drinking places sales account for 56.9 percent of the increase in total direct tourism-related sales, which grew from $374.7 billion to $387.3 billion.
— Sales of the third major tourism industry, hotels and lodging places, were virtually flat for a second year in a row, decreasing $0.1 billion in 2003 after increasing only $0.5 billion in 2002.
Fourth quarter 2003 results were mixed.
–Direct tourism-related sales of eating and drinking places grew 13.9 percent to $69.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2003; direct sales of automotive rental and leasing grew 11.3 percent to $25.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2003.
–Direct tourism-related sales of the two largest tourism industries, hotels and lodging places and air transportation, declined in the fourth quarter of 2003. Sales of hotels and lodging places declined 2.8 percent to $107.4 billion, and sales of air transportation declined 4.5 percent to $98.4 billion.
–Direct tourism-related sales of all tourism industries grew $2.0 billion to $397.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2003. Direct tourism sales are sales by tourism industries to out-of-town visitors such as sales by airlines and restaurants to leisure and business travelers.
–Indirect tourism-related sales of all tourism industries grew $2.1 billion to $343.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2003. Indirect tourism sales are sales to tourism industries by the chain of industries that supply them, such as fuel to airlines and oil to the fuel refineries that supply airlines.
These are the first quarterly tourism estimates that reflect the results of the 2003 Comprehensive Revision of the National Income and Product Accounts. The revision had its most significant impact on the estimates of sales for hotel and lodging places, where the levels of sales were lowered in all periods. Because hotels and lodging places are a major component of total tourism activity, this in turn resulted in lower levels of total tourism sales in all periods as well.
Tourism industries are those identified in the BEA Travel and Tourism Satellite Accounts (TTSA) as industries whose primary products are typically purchased by out-of-town visitors. Visitors are people whose travel for pleasure or business takes them 50 miles or more away from home, or outside of their usual environment. The definitions, framework, and estimating methods used for the U.S. TTSA’s follow, as closely as practicable, the guidelines for similar accounts that were developed by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
BEAs estimates of U.S. tourism industry sales include figures for both direct and indirect sales. Direct tourism sales are sales by tourism industries to out-of-town visitors. Indirect tourism sales are sales to tourism industries by the chain of industries that supply them. Indirect sales were estimated using industry-by-industry total requirements coefficients from BEAs input-output accounts.
