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Business Travel Turnaround by 2003 |
WASHINGTON, DC -- July 23, 2002
- The Travel Industry Association of America�s (TIA) official Travel Forecast
projects that the decline in business travel that many sectors of the travel
industry are feeling will turn around. After three straight years of declines,
TIA forecasts that business/convention travel volume will increase slightly
(+1.4%) in 2002. However, business travel is not forecast to climb back
to 2000 levels until some time in 2003.
-- Overall, total domestic travel volume rose by 2 percent in 2001. This gain was driven by a strong leisure market the first half of 2001, which offset the drop in business travel (-3%) over 2000. �Gains earlier in the year in leisure travel and the modification in travel patterns following the September 11 attacks aided the annual growth,� remarked Dr. Suzanne Cook, senior vice president of research for the Travel Industry Association of America. �Consumers feel travel is an important part of their lives and they didn�t stop traveling last fall because of the attacks or the weak economy. They simply modified the way they took their leisure trips by traveling closer to home, taking shorter trips and taking more auto trips.� 
-- Cook noted that, �The travel and tourism industry, in particular airlines and hotels, experienced significant losses in sales and revenues last year. The decreases in air and business travel, along with shorter trips and discounted travel prices, caused the decline in travel expenditures. Domestic travel spending by U.S. residents will not exceed 2000�s record levels until some time in 2004.� TIA is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $545 billion travel industry. TIA's mission is to represent the whole of the U.S. travel industry to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States. |
Contact:
| Cathy Keefe
202-408-2183 http://www.tia.org |