USA finds favour with Chinese Tourists- Europeans prefer home!

The United States of America (USA) has gained massively from the globally connected Chinese tourist. This marks a record 35.3% improvement as compared to previous years when Chinese visitors flocked to the USA- a significantly improved income of over $ 1.5 million. While authorities in the USA congratulate themselves on a job well done- following the vision of their charismatic leader Barack Obama in making America “more welcoming to visitors from all around the world”, the lowering number of European tourists cannot be ignored.

Europe, currently in the grip of a mini recession, isn’t featured as a major contender unlike previous years. The European tourists preferring to tour closer home or third world countries wherein their euros, pounds and francs have greater value. The pack was led by British visitors at 3.8 million- a notable decline of 1.9%. However, these numbers are expected to pick up in the coming years.

The US is enjoying a renewed interest from the tourist community that seeks to explore the world’s biggest economy. As reported by the US Commerce Department, a record 67 million international visitors have already visited- a hike of 4.3 million from the same time last year. As usual, the Canadian and Mexican visitors accounted for the bulk of this influx, but the international configurations are altering to include the Asian giants. Japan closely follows China with 3.7 million tourists visiting the USA- a gain of 14% from last year.

2013 is turning out to be a record breaking year for world tourism- already a 10% increment is registered from last year with gross earnings of $168.1 billion. In light of these favourable conditions, the US Commerce Department forecasts a 4.0% annual growth of its tourism industry through 2018, with an additional 69.6 million foreign tourists expected to tour the States this year. The ultimate goal, as per the Department, is to attract upwards of 100 million international visitors annually, netting a commendable $250 billion in profits by the end of 2021. Considering that emergent countries like China, Brazil and Saudi Arabia are expected to lead the pack of international tourists, this target is definitely not too off the mark.