For 2010, the U.S. lodging industry posted pre-tax profits of US$18 billion, up from US$16 billion in 2009, and US$127.7 billion in sales, up slightly from US$127.2 billion in 2009, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s “Lodging Industry Profile,” an annual statistical analysis of the industry.
This US$127.7 billion contributed to an overall US$759 billion in tourism sales (excluding spending on U.S. airlines by international travelers) with resident and international travelers’ expenditures in the U.S. estimated at US$2 billion/day; US$86.6 million/hour; US$1.4 million/minute; and US$24,000/second.
The percentage of international travelers to the U.S. increased 9% from 54.9 million in 2009 to a record 59.7 in 2010. Meanwhile arrivals from overseas travelers increased by 11% to a record 26.4 million. The top 10 countries in terms of U.S. arrivals for 2010 were Canada with 20 million, Mexico with 13.4 million, the U.K. with 3.9 million, Japan with 3.4 million, Germany with 1.7 million, France with 1.3 million, Brazil with 1.2 million, South Korea with 1.1 million, Australia with 904,000, and Italy with 838,000. These 10 countries accounted for 80% of U.S. international visitors.
Other facts found in the report:
· A detailed breakdown of the 51,015 U.S. hotels by room number, size, location, and nightly rate.
· The travel and tourism industry pays US$188 billion in travel-related wages and salaries and employs 1.76 million property workers.
· Profiles of the typical lodging consumer who traveled for business compared to those who traveled for leisure.
The complete 2011 “Lodging Industry Profile” is available on AH&LA’s Information Center Webpage.