Total Travel Spending Tops One Trillion Again According to the U.S. Travel Association’s US travel spending forecast (as of November 2018), 2018 spending in the US is expected to total $1.09 trillion, a 5.0% increase from 2017’s $1.03 trillion. The association’s October 2018 Travel Trends Index of 51.6 is the 106th consecutive month in positive territory and represents the 9th consecutive year of industry growth. The resurgence in international travel to the US during 2018 is predicted to increase during 2019, but at a slower rate, which will be much the same for domestic travel. Business travel is forecast to be the strongest sector through April 2019.

The World Comes to America – and Spends Plenty of Money After just a 0.07% increase in international visitors to the US from 2016 (76.4 million) to 2017 (76.9 million), the US Commerce Department forecasts 2018’s total will reach 81.3 million, a 5.7% increase from 2017. Subsequently, international visitors’ 2018 travel spending in the US is expected to total $158.6 billion, a 1.8% increase from 2017, which only increased 0.1% from 2016. A total of 95 million international visitors are forecast to travel to the US during 2023; and, although approximately half of those visitors will be Canadians and Mexicans, visitors from India, Columbia and China will increase significantly from 2017 to 2023.

Travel Consumers Still Value Travel Agents According to TrekkSoft’s 2018 Tourism Survey of 959 travel agents, tour operators and other travel industry suppliers worldwide, bookings from agents, affiliates increased to 24.3% from 17.5% for 2017. Direct online bookings declined from 79.2% to 66.7%. Although the percentage of bookings with human interaction decreased from 24.2% (2017) to 17.8% (2018), the revenues generated increased from 47.8% to 48.7%. Customers with human interaction spent more than those booking online. A major trend that has helped traditional travel agents compete with online booking is transforming themselves into a trusted advisor. Surprisingly, many Millennials choose a travel “advisor” because they don’t have the time to do their own booking.

A Global Economy Thrives on Business Travel Although there appeared to some softening of the global economy when this Profiler was written, the U.S. Travel Association forecasts 472.1 million business person- trips during 2019, and increasing every year, to 493.3 million during 2022. Large corporations/businesses may spend more for business travel, but almost half of all US workers are employed at companies with 100 or fewer employees, which means they contribute significantly to business- travel spending. Claritas’ Small Business Behavior Track found almost 80% of every business booked travel online; however, 60% of those in the banking industry used the in-person purchase channel, compared to 32% online.

Have Tech Will Travel According to MMGY Global’s Portrait of American Travelers 2018-19, 70% of American travelers are using social media daily, and for an average of 82 minutes; however, 83% of Millennials travelers use social media daily, and for an average of 113 minutes. American travelers’ use of Instagram has increased more than 300% from 2013 to 2018, or 13% and 46%, respectively. Millennials travelers’ use of Instagram has increased at an even larger rate, from 16% during 2013 to 60% during 2018. The MMGY Global study also revealed influencer marketing may be an excellent strategy for travel agents and other travel service providers, as only 10% of consumers followed a service provider on social media, but 24% followed at least one influencer/celebrity.

The Future of Travel Is an Open Road As many prime travel destinations, such as Venice, Italy, have suffered from overtourism, more travel agents and tour operators are promoting off-season packages as well as undiscovered destinations. Experiential travel will continue to be a major trend during 2019, with a focus on culinary travel, living like locals and using augmented and virtual reality technologies to discover unknown destinations remotely as part of travelers’ decision-making. A late-2018 survey of more than 3,500 consumers from Travel Leaders Group found almost 90% of respondents said they were planning as many trips during 2019 as they took during 2018.

Advertising Strategies Retailers in markets with a concentration of international visitors may want to consider special displays of merchandise, and even signage in various languages, catering specifically to the increasing number of visitors from India, Columbia and China. Travel agencies/agents may find it advantageous to evolve their branding to a travel advisor, especially to attract more young adult travelers, citing how an advisor will save them planning and booking time and assistance during travel disruptions. Travel service providers should continue to emphasize and feature experiential travel opportunities, which are attracting more young adults as well as Baby Boomers.

New Media Strategies Instagram may be the best social media site for travel service providers, especially to connect with young adults. Post content that promotes experiential travel and ask customers to post photos and videos of their experiences. Travel service providers can likely increase their social media followers by implementing an influencer marketing program. Such a person could be a local travel blogger, a loyal customer or a local media personality who is an avid traveler. The list of top 10 global destination citied on page 4 of the Profiler is an excellent source of social media posts, which could feature well-known as well as offbeat attractions, and important information about weather, currency, local cuisine, etc.