Real tourism output declined at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in the third quarter of 2006 largely due to heightened security concerns over air travel according to data by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the…
Real tourism output declined at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in the third quarter of 2006 largely due to heightened security concerns over air travel according to data by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter of 2006, real tourism output grew 1.9 percent (revised). By comparison, real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent (preliminary) in the third quarter of 2006, and 2.6 percent (final) in the second quarter of 2006.
Direct tourism employment rose 0.1 percent in the second quarter of 2006 (the most recent period for which data are available), after growing 2.9 percent (revised) in the first quarter of 2006. By comparison, overall U.S. employment grew 1.2 percent in the second quarter of 2006, and 1.7 percent in the first quarter of 2006.
Other highlights of the travel and tourism satellite accounts include:
- After a sharp increase of 7.5 percent (revised) in the second quarter of 2006, prices for tourism goods and services rose only 2.2 percent in the third quarter of 2006. By comparison, the overall GDP price index rose 1.8 percent in the third quarter of 2006.
- Total tourism-related employment was flat in the second quarter of 2006, accounting once again for 8.3 million jobs
Changes in Real Tourism Output
After growing 11.6 percent (revised) in the second quarter of 2006, real output of passenger air transportation declined 11.6 percent in the third quarter of 2006. Much of this reversal may be attributed to the tightened air travel restrictions and security concerns announced the second week of August. Also, real output of traveler accommodations, which dipped 1.1 percent (revised) in the second quarter of 2006, was down 4.2 percent in the third quarter of 2006.
Changes in Tourism Prices
Prices for passenger air transportation, which increased 16.9 percent (revised) in the second quarter of 2006, rose only 0.9 percent in the third quarter of 2006. Prices for traveler accommodations, which grew 8.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005 and 7.8 percent in the first quarter of 2006, increased a much more modest 3.4 percent (revised) and 3.1 percent in the second and third quarters of 2006.
Changes in Tourism Employment
After an increase of 2.9 percent (revised) in the first quarter of 2006, overall direct tourism employment grew only 0.1 percent in the second quarter of 2006 (the latest period for which data are available). While employment in the traveler accommodations industry grew for the eleventh time in the last twelve quarters, adding 2.8 thousand jobs, employment in the air transportation services industry declined for the sixth consecutive quarter, eliminating 2.5 thousand jobs.
Total Tourism-Related Output
In the third quarter of 2006, total current-dollar tourismrelated output of $1.2 trillion consisted of $663.2 billion of direct tourism output – output of goods and services sold directly to visitors, and $506.1 billion of indirect tourism-related output – output of goods and services used to produce what visitors buy.
Total Tourism-Related Employment
In the second quarter of 2006 (the most recent period for which data are available), total tourismrelated employment of 8.3 million consisted of 5.7 million direct tourism jobs – jobs where workers produce goods and services sold directly to visitors, and 2.6 million indirect tourismrelated jobs – jobs where workers produce goods and services used to produce what visitors buy.
Definitions
Direct tourism output. Direct tourism output comprises all output consumed by visitors (e.g., traveler accommodations, passenger air transportation, souvenirs).
Indirect tourism-related output. Indirect tourism-related output comprises all output used as inputs in the process of producing direct tourism output (e.g., toiletries for hotel guests, the various ingredients used to make the meals served airline passengers, and the plastic used to produce souvenir key chains). Indirect tourism-related output is estimated using commodity-by-commodity output multipliers from the Current Industry Analysis Division.
Total tourism-related output. Total tourism-related output is the sum of direct tourism output and indirect tourism-related output.
Direct tourism employment. Direct tourism employment comprises all jobs where the workers are engaged in the production of direct tourism output (e.g., hotel staff, airline pilots, and souvenir sellers).
Indirect tourism-related employment. Indirect tourism-related employment comprises all jobs where the workers are engaged in the production of indirect tourism-related output (e.g., employees of companies that produce toiletries for hotel guests, the various ingredients used to make the meals served airline passengers, and the plastic used to produce souvenir key chains). Indirect tourism-related employment is estimated using industry-by-industry employment multipliers from the Regional Economic Analysis Division.
Total tourism-related employment. Total tourism-related employment is the sum of direct tourism employment and indirect tourism-related employment.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
