The US Department of Commerce announced the results of its 2013 Survey of International Air Travelers (SIAT) effort.
The US Department of Commerce announced the results of its 2013 Survey of International Air Travelers (SIAT) effort. The SIAT is a primary research program, launched in 1983, that estimates overseas visitor volumes to destinations (states and cities) and provides traveler characteristics of those visitors to the United States and the destinations.
On April 7th Commerce reported international travel to the United States in 2013. Travel volume from overseas regions, based on DHS I-94 arrival records, was up eight percent compared to 2012. An in-depth analysis of the arrival information was released on May 29th in the “2013 International Visitation to the United States Report.”
In summary, visitation patterns were more ‘balanced’ in 2013 than in 2012. For example, in 2012 visitation to 10 city destinations had declined compared to 2011 whereas in 2013 ‘only’ two city destinations showed a decline. Traveler characteristics reflected subtle, yet significant changes that impact the destination visited estimates.
All travel, measured by the various main purposes of trip, increased in volume in 2013, but by varying degrees. The average number of states and destinations visited declined. The average length of stay increased, and the travel party size remained the same. The number of tour packages and first time travelers grew. The use of intercity transportation modes declined slightly.
Leisure Travel (Vacation/Holiday), estimated at record 21.4 million travelers in 2013, increased seven percent from 2012. Regions that produced increases in leisure travel were South America, Asia (except Japan), Europe, and Oceania. All of the top U.S. destinations experienced growth in leisure travelers, with Florida, California and Hawaii at double digits. Florida and California both set records in 2013 for the most travelers visiting the state for a vacation.
Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) estimated at 9.2 million travelers was up seven percent from 2012.
Business travel, estimated at 4.9 million increased six percent in 2013. Business travel to the United States was up from most top origin countries, including Japan at 23 percent and India at 28 percent. New York, California, Texas and Illinois received significant increases in business travel.
Convention travel, estimated at record 3.0 million travelers, increased by three percent.
The average number of states visited in 2013 declined from 1.5 to 1.4 and the percentage of travelers visiting only one state increased to a 72.2 percent share of total visitors, up 1.7 percentage points in 2013. The average number of destinations visited declined from 2.0 to 1.9 and there was also a one percentage point increase in the number of travelers who visited only one destination. The shift of overseas travelers visiting only one place benefitted the destinations visited, but had a negative effect on those areas that have relied on being a secondary destination.
The length of stay in the United States averaged 17.5 nights, up from the 17.0 nights in 2012.However, the top 10 overseas arrival markets showed little increase in the length of visit. In fact, declines were noted from the U.K., Japan, South Korea, and China markets. Increases were noted from India and Russia and virtually no changes were registered from Brazil, France and Australia.