International travellers to the United States have ended up spending more in 2016 than they ever did in 2015 though the U.S. dollar has continued to be strong against several foreign currencies and international tourist arrivals have slumped considerably.
Last year, the international tourists had spent nearly $247.1 billion in the U.S. that marks a 0.4% increase from the $246.2 billion that they had spent in the year 2015, as per the data collected from the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office. The growth comes though the international arrivals to the U.S. in 2016 had become stagnated during that point of time.
The global tourists had spent over $2 billion less on airfares in 2016 as compared to the same that they did the previous year.
The experts had estimated that 0.9% lesser tourists would be visiting the U.S. as compared to a record 77.5 million tourists in the year 2015, as per the Department of Commerce that had made this forecast in November.
The Department of Commerce expects much better tourism record to the U.S. in 2017, particularly a 2.4% rise in foreign tourists for a fresh 78.6 million visitors.
All these things rely on the visa policies and the immigration of the Trump Administration that continue to remain uncertain. The Americans had spent nearly $158.9 billion on global travel last year.
The lower spending on airfare was one of the most crucial factors that checked the overall spending growth. But then, only the U.S. carriers were included in this data. However, a report published by the U.S. Department of Commerce found that foreign carriers gained market share in the U.S. in 2016.
Education-related and medical tourism was however, up by almost 12% year-on-year.
International tourists had spent about $53.2 billion on tuitions and fees for foreign tourists who had been studying in American universities and also on medical processes and wellness experiences.
