Despite the challenges such as the perception of the country abroad especially after President Trump's executive order on immigration and also strong dollar and slowing global economy, the resilience of the United States travel industry created surprise in the sector.
According to the U.S. Travel Association’s latest Travel Trends Index (TTI), international travel continued to defy the expectations of many in May 2017. International travel to the U.S. grew 5.2 percent in May versus the same month in 2016.
The latest TTI even revised upward (to 6.6 percent) its positive international travel figure from April—the first month of data to begin fully reflecting any effects of President Trump’s initial executive order on immigration issued January 27.
Travel growth overall remained strong, buoyed by solid domestic travel demand—both business and leisure. Leisure travel continued to lead the domestic market, but business travel growth rallied after a lackluster performance in April that was largely attributable to the timing of holidays like Easter and Passover.
Overall, travel will likely grow by about 1.8 percent through November 2017, and domestic travel growth will lead the U.S. travel market into the end of the year. However, while growth in forward-looking domestic bookings and searches remains positive, their pace of growth is markedly slower than this time last year.
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