Visa Inc.’s Tourism Outlook: USA 2011 report shows an 18 percent increase in tourism spending in the United States by international Visa cardholders, from $29 billion in 2009 to more than $34 billion in 2010.

Visavue Travel data

U.S. Visa cardholders traveling internationally also increased their spending by 6 percent, from $29 billion in 2009 to $31 billion in 2010.

The three biggest source countries for inbound tourism to the United States were Canada ($9.2 billion), the United Kingdom ($2.5 billion) and Mexico ($2 billion).

Spending by Canadian visitors increased 18 percent from $7.8 billion in 2009 to $9.2 billion in 2010. For the past three years, Visa cardholders from Canada have been the biggest source market for the U.S. tourism economy.

Inbound tourism to the States from China showed the biggest year-on-year boost, with a 64 percent increase from $700 million to $1.1 billion in 2010.

Breakdown by state shows that international Visa cardholders spent the most in Florida ($6.6 billion), followed by New York ($5.6 billion) and California ($5.4 billion). Texas received $2.1 billion while Nevada got $1.8 billion.

Breakdown by sector shows that airline spending inbound to the United States by international Visa cardholders increased 24 percent from $1.3 billion in 2009 to $1.6 billion in 2010.

Lodging went up to $5 billion in 2010, amounting to almost 15 percent of total international Visa cardholder spend in 2010. Spending on restaurants increased to $1.8 billion in 2010, which represents more than 5 percent of total international cardholder transactions in 2010.

For outbound U.S. travelers, Canada and Mexico were the most popular destinations. Canada got $3.5 billion in spending by U.S. Visa cardholders in 2010, while Mexico got $3.1 billion. The next most popular destinations were all in Europe, with the United Kingdom getting $1.6 billion, Italy $1.3 billion, France $1.3 billion and Germany $1.1 billion.

Again, China was the country that enjoyed the biggest year-on-year growth (18 percent), with U.S. Visa cardholders spending $741 million in China in 2010 compared to $626 million in 2009.

A couple of notable events also clocked huge spurts in spending from U.S. travelers, such as the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, where 30,000 U.S. travelers spent more than $59 million on their Visa cards. American travelers visiting British Columbia during the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games spent approximately $61 million on their Visa cards.

The report notes that 2011 may not be as rosy as 2010 for the U.S. tourism economy because of the impact of Japan’s tsunami and nuclear crisis. Japanese Visa cardholders spent $1.8 billion in the United States in 2010.

Tourism Outlook: USA 2011 from Visa Inc. – Download full report (pdf)

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Tourism Outlook: USA – Int’l Traveler Visa Card Spending up 20%
2010 Consumer Trends – Ypartnership/Harrison Group Survey
UNWTO – World Tourism Will Grow 3-4% in 2010