US Inbound Traffic drop off gets dramatic

The US TIA recently published their number for November inbound to the USA and the first 11 months for the whole of 2008.

While traffic for the year was still way up (6%) this was despite the fact that November inbound visitations plummeted 9%. Judging by the other proxy figures we have seen (LHR departures, BA traffic etc) for December, we can be sure that US inbound numbers will be significantly down on even this number.

Plumbing the numbers for some nuggets - here are the highlights from Europe. The first months through September reflect the weakness of the dollar against the Pound and the Euro. However after September there is now a significant drop off particularly from the UK where the number of visitors make up a substantial portion of the US inbound. With Mexico and Canada both declining - this does not bode well for the USA Tourism market.

• Visitation from Western Europe was down six percent for November and up 14 percent year-to-date, accounting for 48 percent of overseas arrivals.
• Arrivals from the United Kingdom were down 14 percent in November but up three percent year-to-date. Visitors from the United Kingdom accounted for 37 percent of all Western European arrivals.
• Year-to-date, German arrivals increased 18 percent, French arrivals grew 26 percent, and Italian arrivals were up 25 percent, continuing growth trends from 2007. For the first eleven months of 2008, visitation from the Netherlands grew 22 percent. At the same time, visitors from Spain and Ireland grew 31 percent and nine percent, respectively. Arrivals from Sweden and Switzerland were up 19 percent and 17 percent, respectively, for the year.
• Visitation from Asia decreased two percent year-to-date. Japanese arrivals decreased eight percent year-to-date. Japan accounted for 52 percent of all Asian visitors for the year. Year-to-date, arrivals from South Korea decreased five percent. India and PR China grew seven percent and 25 percent, respectively. Taiwanese visitation decreased five percent in the first eleven months of 2008