British Travel to US Continues to Rise Despite Weakened Economies
British travel and bookings to the United States remained strong through the first half of 2008 and continued growth is expected through the end of the the year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce United Kingdom Travel Trade Barometer.
British bookings to the United States increased from four to nine percent in the second quarter 2008 compared to 2007. According to the trade, the exchange rate continues to be the primary driving force, along with strong trade and continued consumer confidence for U.S. products.
Eighty percent of all travel trade organizations reporting in the survey stated that they remained very confident in recommending travel to the United States. Also, half of the trade organizations reported that U.K. consumers’ confidence level is positive in selecting the United States as their holiday destination in 2008.
For the second quarter 2008, the majority (80 percent) of the trade reported that bookings had increased. Independent travel continued to grow at a faster pace than package travel however, both registered growth for the quarter.
Bookings for the second quarter increased four to nine percent, on average, compared to second quarter 2007, while summer bookings were projected to be higher by six out of ten (60 percent) trade organizations.
Nearly one third (30 percent) of projected bookings were expected to be much higher this summer (2008) compared to last year’s bookings in 2007.
Supporting the positive projections, trade reported that current bookings for the third quarter (reported at the time of the survey) were up four to nine percent over this time last year.
This is good news given in third quarter 2007 over 1.2 million United Kingdom travelers visited the United States, up nearly 12 percent over 2006 arrivals – according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries.
At the time of the survey, trade also reported that bookings for the fourth quarter were up four to nine percent on average, compared to the same time in 2007.
Again, this continues to be good news given that in 2007’s fourth quarter, nearly 1.3 million United Kingdom travelers visited the United States, up nearly 14 percent over the previous year’s 2006 arrivals.
The primary deterrent for bookings was reported to be the current British economy.
Karen
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