Tourism is rebounding, as Visa card spending by international visitors to the U.S. was up considerably during the first half of the year, according to Visa Inc.’s Tourism Outlook for the United States.
Spending by foreign travelers increased 20%, to $15.6 billion from $13 billion during the first half of 2009, Visa says.
However, the oil spill resulting from the April explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oilrig negatively affected tourism spending in the Gulf Coast states. Visa cites a report from Oxford Economics, which predicts that the region will lose $22.7 billion in tourism dollars.
Louisiana experienced the biggest percentage reduction in tourism spending by international Visa cardholders, dropping 65%, to $4.3 million in June from $12.2 million the previous month. In the Florida Panhandle, tourism spending decreased 35%, to $24.9 million from $38.3 million. In Alabama, tourism spending decreased only 8%, to $728,000 from $789,000, while in Mississippi tourism spending decreased 56%, to $288,000 from $660,000. Visa cites lodging and oil and gas as the two tourism sectors hardest hit in the Gulf region.
Despite the region’s downturn, Visa expects an overall rebound based on its other tourism data. “The data is too early to see the long-term impact [in the Gulf],” says Paul Wilke, director of corporate relations at Visa. “We’ve been doing these tourism reports since 2004, and one thing that continues to amaze is the resilience of destinations hit with disaster and travelers’ desires to return to that area.”
Wilke cites the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia as an example. “People were returning to those areas 12 to 15 weeks after the event,” he says.
In terms of the Gulf Coast’s recovery, tourist areas are doing a good job getting the word out about which areas are safe to visit, Wilke says. “Travelers are more informed today,” he says.
Meanwhile, Americans are spending more on their Visa cards internationally. American Visa cardholders spent $7.1 billion while traveling internationally in the first quarter of 2010, a 9% increase from the $6.5 billion spent during the first quarter of 2009.
“People are passionate about travel,” says Wilke. “Tourism is a resilient industry, and in this case, hopefully, a barometer of the economy bouncing back.”
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