1) Introduction to the Travel Industry

The 2009-2010 period finds the travel industry continuing to face challenging times.
Consumers’ budgets are tight, and they are cutting down on unnecessary expenses. When
the middle class does take a vacation, it is on a reduced budget. Meanwhile, corporate
and business travel budgets are tight as well. The travel industry is acutely aware of this
problem. Most airlines have cut routes and reduced the total number of seats available,
partly by removing older, fuel-guzzling aircraft from service. Travel providers of nearly
all types are competing fiercely on price or are offering their customers special
inducements and packages.

The U.S. Travel Association (USTA) estimated total U.S. travel expenditures at $772.9
billion for 2008, $739.4 billion in 2007 and $699.8 in 2006. According to the World
Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the global travel and tourism industry supported
77.2 million jobs on a direct basis in 2009 (a 1.9% decline from 2008), generating $1.87
trillion in direct global revenues (a 3.5% decline from 2008, and an amount representing
about 3.2% of total global GDP). The WTTC forecasts real annual revenue growth
averaging 3.6% between 2009 and 2019, boosting the 2019 total to $3.39 trillion.

The WTTC also prepares an estimate of the total effect of travel and tourism on GDP
(gross domestic product), including both direct and indirect revenues. On that basis, the
group estimates the total impact of the industry on global GDP at $5.47 trillion or 9.4%
of global GDP for 2009.

In the WTTC’s figures, the U.S. accounted for $1.64 trillion in direct plus indirect travel
expenditures in 2009, followed by Japan at $551 billion and China at $526 billion. China
is the market to watch, with 100 million Chinese expected to travel to foreign lands in
2018.

IATA, the international association that represents most of the world’s major airlines,
projected a global airline industry net loss at $9 billion for 2009, after a net loss of $10.4
billion in 2008 and a net profit of $12.9 billion in 2007.

The 2008-2009 period was an ugly time for airlines. Many airlines took bankruptcy
protection in 2008, including Frontier, and some, such as Aloha Airlines and ATA, once
major airlines in Hawaii and elsewhere, were forced to discontinue operations altogether.
Several specialty and business-class-only airlines ceased operations, including MAXjet,
Eos and Skybus. Government-controlled Alitalia, in Italy, took bankruptcy in August
2008.

Hotels throughout the world enjoyed a major boom through mid 2007, with high
occupancy levels, rising room rates and strong levels of both business and leisure
travelers. However, the global financial crisis put a damper on hotel occupancy that
continued into 2008 and 2009. Many major hotel construction projects have been
cancelled or put on hold.
E-commerce continues to play an extremely important role in the travel sector, making
booking convenient for consumers and more cost-effective for travel providers. However,
online travel booking sites like Orbitz and Expedia face tough competition. Today,
airlines and hotel chains are offering their own powerful online reservation systems, with
rich features, multiple levels of photos and descriptions, and the ability to earn and
manage frequent flyer awards. Consumers often find the lowest prices on sites operated
directly by airlines and hotels.

The cruise line business has held up relatively well in the onset of the financial crisis,
particularly at the largest cruse lines. However, these companies often offer deep
discounts today in order to fill cabins. Consumers see cruises as high-value package
deals, and cruise ships are nearly full.

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Travel, Airline, Hotel & Tourism Overview
See the complete list of statistics that we provide .
Airline, Hotel & Travel Industry Overview
Segment Amount Units Date Source

U.S. Airline Industry

Passengers (Domestic) 627.8 Mil. 2009* BTS

Departures 9.9 Mil. 2009* BTS

Passenger Revenue Miles 790 Bil. 2009* BTS

Passenger Load Factor 78.79 % 2009* BTS

Freight Revenue Ton Miles 5.8 Bil. 2009* BTS

Overall Available Ton Miles 143.4 Bil. 2009* BTS

Full-Scope Air Travel Price Index 123.2 1995=100 Q4 2008 BTS

Air Travel Price Index Average Annual Growth Rate 2.51 % 1998-2008 BTS

U.S. Rail Travel - Amtrak

Monthly Riders, Average 2.4 Mil. 2008** BTS

Amtrak Stations, Approximate 500 2009 Amtrak

Amtrak Route Miles, Approximate 21,000 2009 Amtrak

Amtrak Revenue 2.45 Bil. US$ 2008** Amtrak

Amtrak Expenses 3.40 Bil. US$ 2008** Amtrak

U.S. Lodging Industry

Number of Lodging Properties 49,899 Jun-08 STR

Number of Rooms 4.6 Mil. Jun-08 STR

Annual Revenues (Estimated) 154.1 Bil. US$ 2008 STR

Annual Profits (Estimated) 33.0 Bil. US$ 2008 STR

Average Occupancy Rate 60.4 % 2008 AH&LA

Average Hotel Room Rate 106.55 US$/Day 2008 AH&LA

North American Cruise Industry

Passengers Carried by Top 17 N.A. Lines 9.91 Mil. 2008 MARAD

Number of Cruises by Top 17 N.A. Lines 4,212 2008 MARAD

Average Annual Passenger Growth Rate 7.4 Bil. US$ 1990-2008 CLIA

U.S. Travel

Total Travel Expenditures 772.9 Bil. US$ 2008 TIA

Domestic 662.4 Bil. US$ 2008 TIA