A new report from Visa (Tourism Outlook: USA) shows that spending by international travelers in the US in the first six months of 2010 jumped 20% over 2009 levels.

Visa Tourism Outlook USA

2009 Visa spending by international visitors had dropped 12% over 2008, from $32.9 billion in 2008 to $28.9 billion in 2009.

The 20% jump from Jan 1-June 30, 2010 means that by the end of the year, 2010 spending could end up higher than 2008 levels, and may even breach pre-recession highs.

Visitors from Canada ($4.6 billion) and the UK ($1.2 billion) made the biggest contributions to inbound tourism spending in the first half of 2010, followed by Brazil ($835m), Mexico ($819m) and Japan ($787m).

The biggest year-on-year growth  (H1 2010 compared to H1 2009) came from Chinese visitors (74%), followed by Brazil (73%) and Australia (44%).

A statewise breakup of H1 2010 inbound tourism spending shows that Florida was the biggest beneficiary ($2.4 billion), followed by New York ($1.6 billion) and California (also $1.6 billion).

The other seven states on the top ten list include Texas ($594m), Nevada ($558m), Hawaii ($504m), Arizona ($274m), Washington ($262m), Illinois ($201m) and Massachusetts ($197m).

But Florida, inspite of getting the biggest share of inbound tourism spending, also suffered huge losses due to the BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast.

In May 2010, one month after the oil began leaking into the gulf, inbound tourism spending from international travelers to the Gulf Coast states was actually up year-over-year. But in between May and June 2010, the spending tanked by 42%.

Lodging took the biggest hit, with Visa cardholder spending on Gulf Coast lodging decreasing by 50%  (a loss of $6 million) from May to June 2010.

Tourism Outlook: USA – Download (pdf)

On Aug 31, 2010 at 10 am, a civil war is about to erupt at the Comfort Suites in Gettysburg, PA, where the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is holding a public input hearing on the Mason-Dixon Resort & Casino project.

Mason Dixon Resort, Gettysburg, PA

The proposed $27 million casino will be operated by Mason-Dixon LP, whose main promoter is local businessman David LeVan. It would offer Gettysburg visitors a casino with 600 slots and 50 tables, plus a 307 room hotel with 20,000 sq ft of event space and all kinds of resort facilities.

The project has split Gettysburg right down the middle, with Civil War preservationists and businesses claiming it will sully Gettysburg’s image, brand it as a casino town and destroy existing tourism. The casino would occupy the site of the current Eisenhower Hotel & Conference Center, just a mile south of Gettysburg National Military Park. 

Local rebels and businesses fighting against the project are supported by outside groups such as the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT), National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

This coalition put out a well timed report a few days back which systematically tears down all the arguments and statistics quoted by proponents of the project and the Mason-Dixon Local Impact Report. The NPCA’s Cinda Waldbuesser says that “Licensing a casino so close to the battlefield would put a known economic engine at risk in favor of an unknown venture.”

In 2008 (latest available figures) Adams County got over 3 million visitors. Visitors spend over $300 million each year and the County gets tax revenues in the vicinity of $85 million.   

On the other side are the casino promoters, Gettysburg borough officials who expect visitors to spend more and the casino to create more jobs for locals, and Adams County – which has been promised an additional $1 million in tax revenue every year. Gettysburg Park officials have stated the casino does not directly impact the park.

Mason-Dixon Casino map

Promoter David LeVan claims that the casino is actually closer to the Maryland border than Gettysburg.

In a public letter on the project’s website, he says that “Mason-Dixon will protect the jobs currently in place at the Eisenhower and create hundreds more.  That doesn’t even include the number of jobs that will be created by areas businesses that will be hired to assist with construction or provide other goods and services.”

This is LeVan’s second attempt at putting up a casino in Gettysburg. The first project, a 3000 slot casino resort & spa, was rejected by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board in 2006 after similar protests.

A casino may be tasteless to those who consider Gettysburg as hallowed ground, but the recession’s impact and drop in tourism revenues mean that the casino project has a better chance of being approved this time.

Proposition 21 is a ballot measure that will decide whether to fund California’s State Parks with a $18 surcharge tacked on to the annual vehicle license fee.

SOSP

A coalition of business groups, including the California Travel Industry Association (CalTIA), NTA (National Tour Association), and a bunch of Northern California CVBs have officially endorsed Prop 21 and are advocating for its passage.

Every year, CA state parks get 80 million visitors who spend around $4.32 billion in park-related expenditures. Every dollar spent on state park upkeep creates another $2.35 for the state treasury. Even so, there is a $1.3 billion backlog in maintenance and repairs for California’s 278 state parks.

So, in theory, California is sitting on a $3 billion goldmine of untapped revenue - if they can find adequate funding for the parks, which is what Prop. 21 (see yesforstateparks.com) is all about. But California being California, the state has instead been busy trying to shut down the parks for 2 years running.

In 2008, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted to plug a budget shotfall of $14 billion by closing 48 state parks, which would have saved a paltry $13.3 million. Given the insignificant savings and protests that followed, the parks got a reprieve. In 2009, 150 parks were shutdown part time and their budgets got slashed.  

Prop. 21 aims to separate parks funding from the state’s broken economy. The $18 surcharge will be collected by the DMV and transferred to the State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund. This fund, if approved, is expected to pile up around $500 million each year from the 28 million registered vehicles. 85 percent of this revenue will be allocated to state parks.

In return, California vehicles will get free day-use admission to the state parks. Out-of-state vehicles would still be paying the full admission fees. It’s a fair bargain for state residents, and at this stage it looks like Prop. 21 will pass.

But the real problem is that California’s economy is broken and there are other problems waiting for a similar ‘tax fix.’ For example, Half Moon Bay is planning to disincorporate due to budget problems. They have a 1-cent sales tax increase measure on the Nov ballot. If it doesn’t pass, Half Moon Bay will hand over the keys to San Mateo County and will cease to exist as a city.

It would also mean the end of the city’s independent tourism promotion efforts, and one can only imagine how that will affect tourism businesses. To be noted that the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce is one of the organizations that have endorsed Prop. 21.

On a statewide level, how does all this publicity about the dysfunctional economy impact tourism? A CTTC spokesperson tells Reason.com that “Certainly, there has been coverage of the state’s financial state… but when people come to California, they’re coming for the beaches, they’re coming for the mountains, for the attractions and the resorts and the sunshine.”

And the parks.

Photo – Mike Baird

Ypartnership’s 2010 Portrait Of American Travelers offers a peek into the mind of the new post-recession American Leisure Traveler. The report also shows that even though the recession is officially over, leisure travelers have picked up, and continue to retain, a new resourcefulness.

Consumer habits - Leisure travel

For starters, the report says that the U.S. leisure travel market has stabilized, and should expect an increase in demand in the coming year.

The average American leisure traveler took an average of four trips during the past year and spent more than $3,500 on travel services.

But this demand comes with a value caveat – The newly resourceful leisure traveler has also picked up frugal shopping and travel techniques that allow them to fulfill the urge to travel, but on a tight budget. 

81 percent say they are now “looking closely at every spending category to see where they can save,” and 70 percent are “buying fewer big ticket items now than one a year ago.”

One-third of leisure travelers are now waiting for items to go on sale, and the same number are cutting back on exclusive brands.

The recession has also created an obsessive fear of overpaying. Consumers visit 20 websites before making a travel purchase, according to Google. They go through a large number of reviews and ask for price and value feedback on social media networks. A survey by NJ based Black & Wright showed that fear of overpaying tops even earthquakes, hurricanes and the economy as the prime reason for putting off travel planning.

The Ypartnership report shows that this obsession with not overpaying has affected how and where leisure travelers shop. Eight out of ten leisure travelers now say that “the ability to check the lowest fares/rates” (83 percent) and the “lowest price/rate guarantee” (82 percent) are the two most important attributes in a website that promotes travel services.

Read more:- 2010 Consumer Trends: Behold the New American Traveler