Travel & Tourism
Travel and tourism are critical drivers of the American economy, generating $2.6 trillion in economic output and supporting one in ten American jobs—15.8 million in total—in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated the U.S. travel and tourism sector, and hotels are digging out from a two-year period in 2020 and 2021 when they lost a collective $111.8 billion in room revenue alone, according to an analysis for AHLA by Oxford Economics.
Our Position
AHLA supports policies that promote travel to and within the U.S. and that will help jumpstart the regrowth of the travel and tourism industry. Examples include temporary travel and payroll tax credits to encourage business and leisure travel and funding domestic travel promotion.
Key Statistics
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1 in 9 American jobs depend on travel and tourism.
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Direct spending by resident and international travelers in the U.S. average $2.6 billion a day, $108.1 million an hour, $1.8 million a minute, and $30,033 a second.
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$2.3 trillion: Economic output generated by domestic and international visitors (includes $990.3 billion in direct travel expenditures that spurred an additional $1.3 trillion in other industries).
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15.3 million: Jobs supported by travel expenditures (includes 8.6 million directly in the travel industry and 6.7 million in other industries).
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$248.2 billion: Wages shared by American workers directly employed by travel.
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$157.8 billion: Tax revenue generated by travel spending for federal, state and local governments.
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75.6 million: Projected number of international arrivals in the U.S. in 2016, including 37.6 million from overseas markets.
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Hotel operations and guest spending report 8 million jobs, including 4.5 direct jobs.
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Hotels support $355 billion in total labor income.
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Hotels generate nearly $170 billion in federal, state, and local taxes.
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There are 54,200+ properties, over 5 million guest rooms, and 1.1 billion+ guest nights annually in the United States hotel industry.
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The industry has added 188,000+ new jobs in five years.
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Hotel revenue increased to $245 billion in 2015, and real consumer spending on lodging has increased by 230% over the past three decades.
Resources for Members
Updates
Key Issues
AHLA is the singular voice representing every segment of the hotel industry including major chains, independent hotels, management companies, REIT’s, bed and breakfasts, industry partners and more.