TRIPinfo.com logo
Internet Travel Monitor - Industry News

February 15, 2017

Following a Strong 2016, Outlook Improves for Domestic Biz Travel

Travel weathered an abundance of challenges and continued to grow throughout 2016, according to the U.S. Travel AssociationÕs latest Travel Trends Index (TTI). The final TTI based on 2016 data shows that travel to and within the U.S. grew 2.4 percent from December 2015, while the forecast component shows that travel will continue to expand at a moderate pace in the near term.
The story of the latest TTI is undoubtedly domestic business travel. Following a TTI based on November's data showing renewed strength for domestic business, buoyed by a post-election stock market surge, the sectorÕs immediate growth declined slightly in December 2016. However, the TTIÕs Leading Travel Index (LTI) indicates that domestic business travelÕs growth rate will rebound, and catch up to that of domestic leisure travelÑthe sector that has long led U.S. travel growth.

The analysis and forecasts in the latest TTI are through December 2016Ñprior to any executive orders issued by the new Trump administration on border security and visas.

ÒLooking back on 2016, it is remarkable to observe the resilience of the travel industry, which is approaching its eighth straight year of expansion,Ó said U.S. Travel Association Senior Vice President for Research David Huether.

In the full TTI report, the 6-month predictive Leading Travel Index (LTI) reading of 51.1 indicates that U.S. Travel volume is expected to grow at a rate of around two percent through June 2017.

The TTI consists of the Current Travel Index (CTI), which measures the number of person-trips involving hotel stays and/or flights each month, and the Leading Travel Index (LTI), which measures the likely average pace and direction of business and leisure travel, both domestic and international inbound. It assigns a numeric score to every travel segment it examinesÑdomestic and international, leisure and businessÑin current, 3-month and 6-month predictive indicators. As with many indices similarly measuring industry performance, a score above 50 indicates growth, and a score below 50 indicates contraction.

Photo of the Week
Photo of the Week
Copyright 2017 U.S. Travel Association. All rights reserved. From http://www.ustravel.org.

To view all articles, check out the Internet Travel Monitor Archive