The Week in Stats: Where Travelers Are Headed Next

This week in travel industry stats new booking data from Hotels.com pointed to continued interest in Las Vegas and London for the second half of 2014, and data from other sources showed strong signs in air travel booking. 

50 Most Popular International Cities for Americans

Hotels.com compiled data for their Hotels Price Index (HPI) on the 50 most popular international cities which Americans travel to. Records showed a marked increase in interest in Latin American destinations with the region having its highest ever half-yearly HPI of 130.

As compared to the first six months of 2013, Mexico City (#16), Cancun (#20), Panama City (#35) and Bogota (#38) ascended four spots on the Top 50 list. This is the first time since 2011 and 2012, that Punta Cana (#46) and Puerto Vallarta (#42) respectively have made the list. This year marks the debut of Lima (#44) on the list of 50 Most Popular International Cities for Americans. 

Source: www.hotels-price-index.com

Las Vegas Continues to Top Most Popular U.S. Cities

Las Vegas continued to be the most popular domestic destination for U.S. travelers during the first half of 2014, according to new data from the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index. 

When traveling at home, Americans paid an average of $137 per night for hotel accommodation in the first half of 2014, an increase of 5 percent over the same period in 2013. As the overall average price paid for domestic hotel stays rose, so did prices in 47 of the Top 50 Most Popular Domestic Cities for Americans. The three cities to experience a price decrease – Washington, DC ($164), Salt Lake City ($104) and Reno ($83) – all were only down by 1 percent.

Source: Hotels.com 

U.S. Travel Exports Improve for July

The United States Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis released some notable trade data that reflects the ever-increasing value of travel to the United States economy. 

The largest increases in exports of services from July 2013 to July 2014 were in travel (for all purposes including education) ($1.0 billion) and transport ($0.6 billion), which includes freight and port services and passenger fares. 

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Agencies Report Robust Revenue and Sales

Seventy four percent of American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) members reported that agency revenue for the first half of the year was better than, or at least the same as, the first half of 2013.

A recent survey by ASTA said increased transactions were cited by 45 percent, and 43 percent reported increasing their client base. This is a robust showing considering that the comparison year—2013—had solid growth, ASTA said. 

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ARC Finds Airline Seat Capacity Varies in Small Markets

A 6.8 percent increase in seat capacity across all small markets is being reported by ARC, who has released a study about the changes to airline capacity at airports serving smaller markets within the United States. 

The report looked at 411 airports with at least 2,500 annual passenger boardings, with no one airport accounting for more than 0.25 percent of the total annual U.S. passenger boardings. The study examined the first quarter of 2013 vs. the same period in 2014.

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International Air Passenger Growth Slowed in June

New data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that the growth in the number of international air passengers slowed in June to 2.4 percent, with first half growth of 3.7 percent compared to the same period last year. 

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