Barbara Richardson, chairwoman of the
Travel Industry Association (TIA), commented recently that the
industry must improve the image of the U.S. with international
travelers.
Referring to a TIA
survey, Richardson said more than half of potential inbound
travelers said theyre increasingly negative about the U.S. and that
almost one in five international consumers said they will avoid
buying U.S. products.
Now, a new report,
the TIAs Market Share Indicator, adds more sobering evidence that
the U.S. is losing its share of inbound travelers.
The report reviews
a 10-year span from 1993 to 2003. It shows inbound travel to the
U.S. from several countries is down considerably. Factors such as
the economy and the impact of 9/11 likely contributed to the
decline.
Nevertheless, the
figures show the share of inbound travelers had been trending down
for several years. The report found that U.S. market share as a
percentage of total outbound travel from Canada was 80.8% in 1993.
By 2003, the percentage had dropped to 67.7%. Similarly, the U.S.
accounted for a 93.6% share of the total outbound market from
Mexico in 1993. In 2003, the share was 87.8%.
The U.S. didnt fare
much better in Europe. The report found that 30% of the long-haul
market from the U.K. headed to the U.S in 1993. That share dropped
to 27% in 2003.
Share of long-haul
travel also dropped from France (20% to 10.5%), Germany (25.4% to
14.9%), Italy (21.9% to 11.8%) and Spain (21.3% to
15.2%).
Share of travelers
from Asia was also down: 34.9% of Japans long-haul market headed to
the U.S. in 1993, compared with 32.2% in 2003. The U.S. also lost
share in Hong Kong, Australia, China, South Korea and
Taiwan.
It did gain
slightly with India, where the U.S had a 17.3% of long-haul
travelers in 2003, compared to 16.1% in 1993.