TInews Archive #20040812.html

Date:	Thur, 12 Aug 2004
From:	TInews Announcement <announce@tinet.ita.doc.gov>
To:	TInews Announcement <tiannounce@tinet.ita.doc.gov>
Subject:	May 2004 International Arrivals to the U.S. – Double Digit Growth Continues

=== TINEWS ===================================

August 12, 2004

Contact: Office of Travel and Tourism Industries
E-mail: tinet_info@ita.doc.gov
Web: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov
Phone: (202) 482-0140, Fax: (202) 482-2887

May 2004 International Arrivals to the U.S. – Double Digit Growth Continues

The U.S. welcomed 3.2 million international visitors in May, a 20 percent increase over May 2003. This contributed to a total of 14.5 million arrivals for the first five months of 2004, up 17 percent from last year.

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Visitation from all regions to the U.S. improved, as follows:

• Overseas travelers (not inclusive of Canada and Mexico) increased by 24 percent in May, totaling 1.7 million, with positive contributions coming from all world regions. Overseas arrivals in the first five months of 2004 totaled 7.7 million, an increase of 20 percent.
• Western Europe visitation was up 17 percent for the month, with significant growth in arrivals from all countries. Travel from the region year-to-date 2004 registered 3.6 million, up almost 19 percent.
• Asian visitation increased by 54 percent for May. There were 2.3 million Asian travelers in the first five months of 2004, up 30 percent.
• Latin American visitation was up, with South and Central America having increased by 12 and nine percent, respectively, for May. Arrivals from the Caribbean were up by seven percent. Year-to-date the three regions were up 11 percent, five percent and 14 percent respectively.
• Other overseas regions experiencing May growth were: Eastern Europe, up six percent; Africa, up eight percent; Oceania, up 33 percent; and arrivals from the Middle East up by seven percent. For the first five months, the remaining four regions registered an 11 percent; eight percent, 29 percent, and 12 percent change respectively.
• North American (Canada and Mexico) arrivals increased for both the month and the first five months of 2004 (see below).

Salient top market results are as follows:

• Canadian arrivals increased by 20 percent in May. Visitation totaled 5.5 million for the first five months of 2004, a 15 percent increase from the first five months of 2003.
• Arrivals from Mexico (those traveling to interior U.S. points) increased by almost three percent for the month. Visitation year-to-date 2004 registered at 1.4 million, up by nine percent.
• Japanese visitors totaled 295,000, up 65 percent in May. The first five months of 2004 increased by 33 percent. The almost 1.5 million arrivals from Japan accounted for 64 percent of all Asian visitors in the first five months of 2004.
• United Kingdom visitation increased by six percent in May, with 334,000 arrivals. This marked the fifteenth monthly increase since the beginning of 2003. The first five months of 2004 were up 14 percent.
• German visitors increased by almost 28 percent in May. Arrivals for the first five months of 2004 totaled 520,000, up 22 percent, and a substantial improvement over the first five months of 2003, which were down 3 percent from 2002.
• All but two of the remaining top twenty travel-generating countries reported double-digit growth in May. From Europe, France was up 22 percent; Italy, up 29 percent; the Netherlands, up 28 percent; Ireland, up 43 percent; Spain, up 36 percent; and Sweden, up 30 percent. From Asia, arrivals from South Korea were up three percent; PRC/Hong Kong, up 120 percent; India, up 23 percent; and Taiwan, up 173 percent. From Oceania, Australian arrivals increased 38 percent. The Latin American countries Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela increased by 10 percent, 11 percent and eight percent, respectively. Arrivals from Israel, in the Middle East, increased by ten percent. The year-to-date figures may be found on the OTTI website, or by purchasing the monthly arrivals report. Not all of the figures are posted to the website.
• The January 5, 2004 U.S. Department of Homeland Security implementation of the US–VISIT border management program, in which biometric identifiers are captured from those visitors who require a visa to enter the U.S. at major U.S. ports of entry, again did not appear to deter travel from non-Visa Waiver country travelers. In fact, May arrivals from the non-Visa Waiver countries were up 18 percent, significant growth albeit below the 28 percent growth among the Visa Waiver countries. Specific examples of non-Visa Waiver countries’ growth in arrivals are listed in the previous paragraph for Asia and Latin America. In May, Visa Waiver countries accounted for two-thirds of all overseas arrivals.

Top Ports - May 2004 Year-to-date

• Arrivals at the top 15 ports of entry totaled 86 percent of all overseas arrivals from January through May 2004 compared to the first five months of 2003. Top port overseas arrivals for May year-to-date, were up 20 percent, the same as the increase in all overseas arrivals. The top three ports-of-entry (New York – JFK, Miami and Los Angeles) accounted for 38 percent of all overseas arrivals to the U.S. This was same as for 2003 year-to-date.
• Every one of the fifteen top airports posted increased arrivals.
• The largest increases were registered at Agana, Guam, Newark, Orlando and New York JFK, with 66 percent, 32 percent, 27 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
• New York JFK moved up to the leading port-of-entry displacing Miami. Newark moved up the fifth place, ahead of San Francisco and Chicago. Boston displaced Detroit from the 13th spot.

To learn more about the markets that generated arrivals to the top 15 airports, and 25 other ports, by 10 world regions and 30 countries, you may wish to consider purchasing the monthly arrivals report, see below.

To see the official U.S. Department of Commerce press release on the May 2004 arrivals, go to: http://www.ita.doc.gov/media/PressReleases/0704/tourism_072904.html

To access the monthly arrival tables for the 11 world regions and 19 countries of residence, please go to: http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/view/m-2004-I-001/index.html

For a more in-depth analysis of arrivals by top ports for the first five months of 2004 please go to http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/view/m-2004-I-001/port_entry04.html

SOURCE
The monthly Summary of International Travel to the U.S. report has approximately 30 tables that provide data on monthly and year-to-date arrivals to the country. The report provides data on approximately 90 countries each month and over 40 ports of entry. Numerous breakouts are provided by world region and country for the port tables as well.

To learn more about this program, please go to: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/research/programs/i94/index.html

If you would like to purchase the monthly international arrivals reports for 2003 and 2004, please go to: http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/research/reports/i94/index.html

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Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, International Trade Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 7025
Washington, D.C. 20230
(202) 482-0140, fax: (202) 482-2887
e-mail: tinet_info@ita.doc.gov

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