2014 a Record Year for U.S. International Travel
New York, NY (PRWEB) February 05, 2015 -- American international travel has been on the rise since hitting a recession-induced nadir of 59.2 million travelers in 2011. While the number of Americans traveling overseas has been relatively stagnant over the past decade, U.S. international travel is growing again as the U.S. economy recovers and more Millennials begin to travel abroad. In fact, recent estimates by the U.S. Office of Travel & Tourism Industries for January through November of 2014 show that international outbound travel from the U.S. jumped 9.8% over the same period year prior, putting the country on track to surpass 65 million international travelers and set a new all-time record for international travel.
According to the 2015 Resonance Report: Portrait of the U.S. International Leisure Traveler, the Top 10 countries Americans plan to visit on vacation in the next 12-24 months are:
1. Canada (29%)
2. Mexico (28%)
3. Italy (27%)
4. England (24%)
5. France (23%)
6. Germany (19%)
7. Spain (15%)
8. Ireland (15%)
9. Bahamas (13%)
10. Greece (13%)
The online survey was conducted by Resonance Consultancy in November 2014 with 1,256 recent U.S. international travelers 18 years or older with household incomes of $50,000 or more.
When it comes to the types of vacations U.S. international travelers are interested in, Millennials (18-34) and Middle Age travelers (35-64) are most interested in visiting beach resorts and major metropolitan cities while Seniors (65+) are most interested in cruise vacations.
“The most interesting trend when it comes to U.S. international travel is the growing impact of the Millennial generation,” says Resonance Consultancy President Chris Fair. “Millennials now account for 30% of all international leisure travelers and they show much higher levels of interest in visiting less traditional destinations in Asia, South America and Central America than older travelers.”
While safety is the #1 criteria for all age groups in choosing a vacation destination, Millennials are much more cost-conscious than older travelers and also the group that considers ‘opportunities to learn something new’ to be very important in choosing a vacation destination.
About Resonance Consultancy
Resonance Consultancy creates destination development plans, strategic marketing and competitive place branding identities for leading travel & tourism companies and organizations around the world. The principals of Resonance have completed more than 100 travel & tourism studies, reports and plans in 70 different countries. To learn more about Resonance Consultancy, please visit http://www.resonanceco.com
Chris Fair, [email protected], http://www.resonanceco.com, (646) 413-8887, [email protected]
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