Foreign tourists’ spending in US hits new record

Washington: The US continues to be a hot destination for big-spending tourists, setting a new record of $168.1 billion in foreign visitor spending in 2012.

The federal government and the tourism industry have been paying special attention to foreign overseas tourists because they typically stay longer and spend more than visitors from Mexico or Canada. Long-haul foreign visitors spend an average of $4,000 per visit, while visitors from Mexico and Canada — although they represent the greatest number of foreign tourists — spend less than $1,000 per visit, according to federal reports.

Visitor numbers from Europe — once the source of most of the US tourism spending — have been dropping in recent years, as Europeans struggle with economic hardships. But the US Department of Commerce predicts continued growth in tourists from Brazil (274 per cent by 2016), China (135 per cent) and India (50 per cent). To promote more foreign visitors, the Obama administration and leaders of the travel industry launched in 2011 a public-private partnership to promote the US in foreign countries.

The campaign, known as Brand USA, is funded by fees charged to visitors applying for visas and contributions from private firms. The administration has also pushed the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to shorten the wait time for visa interviews and expanded a program to speed low-risk visitors through expedited security lines at major airports.

The number of international visitors rose to 62.3 million in 2011, up from 59.7 million in 2010, according to the Department of Commerce.

President Obama has set a goal of welcoming 100 million foreign visitors by 2021. “Our projection is that the travel and tourism industries are going to create over 1 million jobs in the next decade,” Blank said.