“We’re facing the continued strength of the dollar,” Erin Francis-Cummings, president and CEO of Destination Analysts, told delegates attending the NAJ’s recent RTO Summit East in New York. She nonetheless showed that about half the traveling population in some key markets plan to either travel more or spend more on travel this year, and that the United States is still the most desired destination of international travelers.
For her report, The State of the International Traveler, Francis-Cummings drew upon the results of her San Francisco-based company’s just completed survey, which features 15 major global markets (of the Top 15 international source markets listed by the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office, all but Colombia and Spain were included in the survey) over a wide range of travel-related activities as they related to the U.S.
In sum, said Sallie Berry, tourism sales and marketing manager at Corning Museum of Glass and emcee for the Summit’s program, said after hearing the presentation, “Despite the exchange rate, people still want to come to the USA.” The tables that follow are from the presentation of Francis-Cummings. (A second selection of tables from Destination Analysts, focusing on travel planning and sources of information, will appear in the next issue of The Inbound Report.)
Intent to Travel: International
(% that expect to travel more in the next 12 months)
| Country | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 66.90% | 66.40% | 72.50% |
| Mexico | 69.30% | 61.00% | 66.40% |
| China | 77.10% | 68.40% | 65.10% |
| Argentina | - - | - - | 61.00% |
| India | 52.40% | 58.70% | 52.80% |
| Italy | 32.90% | 39.60% | 46.60% |
| South Korea | 45.30% | 48.40% | 46.40% |
| UK | 24.20% | 32.20% | 33.70% |
| France | 28.80% | 32.70% | 32.80% |
| Australia | 32.30% | 33.40% | 31.50% |
| Canada | 26.70% | 33.50% | 31.20% |
| Germany | 25.70% | 29.60% | 31.10% |
| Netherlands | - - | - - | 27.50% |
| Japan | 23.80% | 24.40% | 24.30% |
| Russia | - - | 33.70% | - - |
| Source: Destination Analysts |
Expected Travel Spending: International
(% expect to spend more in the next 12 months)
| Country | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 75.20% | 65.00% | 63.10% |
| Brazil | 55.90% | 58.80% | 61.10% |
| India | 56.10% | 58.90% | 56.40% |
| Mexico | 47.00% | 46.80% | 54.00% |
| South Korea | 52.90% | 52.50% | 51.20% |
| Argentina | - - | - - | 45.60% |
| Italy | 32.80% | 34.70% | 43.40% |
| UK | 29.80% | 38.90% | 37.30% |
| Australia | 33.20% | 35.80% | 34.70% |
| France | 25.70% | 33.30% | 34.60% |
| Canada | 28.10% | 35.20% | 33.00% |
| Germany | 26.70% | 30.50% | 25.40% |
| Japan | 26.60% | 25.90% | 29.30% |
| Netherlands | - - | - - | - - |
| Russia | - - | 44.40% | - - |
| Source: Destination Analysts |
Days Available for International Travel
(Average expected number of days available for international travel)
| Country | Number of Travel Days Available |
|---|---|
| Netherlands | 22.9 |
| Australia | 22.1 |
| Brazil | 20.9 |
| UK | 20.4 |
| Argentina | 20 |
| Germany | 19 |
| Canada | 16.4 |
| Italy | 16.4 |
| Mexico | 16.2 |
| France | 15 |
| China | 14.2 |
| India | 13.9 |
| South Korea | 10.8 |
| Japan | 7.2 |
| Source: Destination Analysts | |
Budget Available for International Travel
| Country | 2015 | 2016 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | $6,070 | $6,154 | 1.40% |
| Australia | $5,674 | $5,600 | -1.30% |
| India | $5,451 | $4,549 | -16.50% |
| Brazil | $3,990 | $4,497 | 12.70% |
| UK | $3,684 | $4,200 | 14.00% |
| South Korea | $4,190 | $3,718 | -11.30% |
| Germany | $3,188 | $3,346 | 5.00% |
| Argentina | - - | $3,244 | - - |
| France | $3,623 | $3,198 | -11.70% |
| Mexico | $3.40 | $3,170 | -6.70% |
| Japan | $3,157 | $3,150 | -0.20% |
| Canada | $3,592 | $2,969 | -17.30% |
| Netherlands | - - | $2,880 | - - |
| Italy | $3,023 | $2,791 | -7.70% |
| Source: Destination Analysts |
Question: What are the three foreign countries that you would most like to visit in the next 12 months? (Write in up to three)
Most Desired Global Destinations: United States
(Percentage Writing in United States)
| Country | 2015 | 2016 | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 65.20% | 58.20% | #1 |
| Brazil | 61.80% | 64.20% | #1 |
| India | 56.10% | 45.00% | #1 |
| Canada | 53.50% | 40.90% | #1 |
| Japan | 47.10% | 43.80% | #1 |
| UK | 44.30% | 28.50% | #2 |
| South Korea | 43.60% | 33.40% | #2 |
| Australia | 41.90% | 27.80% | #1 |
| China | 41.50% | 35.30% | #1 |
| Italy | 40.20% | 32.80% | #1 |
| France | 31.50% | 24.80% | #3 |
| Argentina | - - | 34.10% | #2 |
| Germany | 16.50% | 14.40% | #5 |
| Netherlands | - - | 11.20% | #7 |
| Source: Destination Analysts | |||
Most Desired International Destinations (Overall)
| Destination | 2015 | 2016 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 37.30% | 35.30% | -5.5 |
| France | 18.40% | 18.10% | -1.6 |
| Spain | 15.10% | 16.90% | 12.5 |
| Italy | 16.00% | 15.00% | -6.3 |
| UK | 15.10% | 14.50% | -3.7 |
| Source: Destination Analysts |
Likely Visitation to the U.S. (Next Two Years)
| Source Market/Country | % |
|---|---|
| Brazil | 77.50% |
| India | 73.20% |
| Mexico | 70.30% |
| China | 62.50% |
| Canada | 59.10% |
| German | 51.30% |
| Italy | 45.50% |
| UK | 36.80% |
| South Korea | 33.50% |
| Argentina | 32.80% |
| France | 32.70% |
| Australia | 29.50% |
| Japan | 27.60% |
| Netherlands | 15.80% |
| Source: Destination Analysts |
