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Americans still spending everywhere else
Last year, 63.6 million Americans traveled abroad, a 1 percent drop from 2007, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. This was the first fall since 2002. Nonetheless, spending grew fro the fifth year in a row to $112.3 billion – up 7 percent from 2007. Americans spent $79.7 billion in foreign countries, with the balance ($32.6 billion) coming from air transportation.
Mexico bucked the trend in 2008: travel from the United States grew by 4 percent. Travel to Canada, the other nearby destination, dropped 7 percent, and overseas excursions were off 1 percent.
In addition to being the top destination for Americans abroad, Mexico led in spending. Americans dropped $11.1 billion with its neighbor to the south, followed by the United Kingdom ($10.5 billion), Canada ($7.3 billion), Germany ($6.3 billion) and Japan ($5.2 billion). U.S. travelers set spending records last year in Germany, Japan, Italy, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Australia, the Netherlands and Argentina.
Filed under: Business, North America, United States
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jorge Eduardo Castillo Jun 30th 2009 10:46AM
Our company, Passport Health has seen a slight increase in international travel. As we provide immunizations and expert counseling for those traveling overseas, we have noticed that still people are traveling unprepared, undervaccinated and without enough information to protect their health.
In Mexico alone, the number one international destination for U.S. travelers, 50% of Americans who travel there get travelers diarrhea (TD). Not only is this preventable, but roughtly 10% of those with travelers diarrhea will develop chronic postinfectious irritable bowl syndrome (http://www.nature.com/ajg/journal/v100/n3/full/ajg2005125a.html).
Worldwide, there are 20 million cases of TD every year and there are several ways to prevent it.