The USA National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) reported that total international visitors fell 3.9% in the first half of the year, while overseas visitors (international excluding Canada and Mexico), fell 5.7%.
A fall-off in tourists from both China and India, down 3.2% and 12.9%, respectively, reversed solid growth from both countries in 2016, when China arrivals grew 14.7% while India’s increased 4.1%, according to the NTTO. Other weak markets this year are Mexico and Brazil, down 6.3% and 15.1%.
“These numbers are an undeniable wake-up call, and correcting this troubling trend needs to become a national priority,” stated U.S. Travel Association CEO Roger Dow. “The travel industry will turn over every stone looking for all available policy options to better promote the U.S. as an international destination, and we stand ready to partner with the federal government to grow travel, and American jobs and exports along with it.”
Fred Dixon, CEO of NYC & Company, New York’s marketing organization, said the data “underscores concerns we have had this year about the international tourism landscape in the U.S.” New York is the top U.S. destination for overseas travel, with a nearly 30% market share. This year, NYC & Company predicts that the city could lose up to 100,000 overseas visitors, the first drop in international tourism since 2009.
“New York City has been astutely attuned to this vulnerability for quite some time,” he said. “To counter the negative effects of policy decisions made by this administration, NYC & Company has activated several global promotions in an effort to protect our fair share of inbound international travel. We applaud U.S. Travel Association’s call to make protecting our industry a national priority.”
Owners of the Trump International Hotel in Panama are working to strip President Donald Trump’s name from the 70-story building and fire the hotel management company run by Trump’s family. The property once paid at least $32 million to associate with Trump.
The uprising by Panama hotel owners — following news that Trump was effectively being paid to end a similar management contract for the Trump Soho hotel in New York — points to continued struggles for the Trump brand outside strongholds like Mar-a-Lago in Florida and the Trump hotel in Washington.
The Trump Organization acknowledged to the Associated Press the effort to strip away the Panama property’s management and brand. It said it believed the move was a
