US Travel Growth Remains Stable, But Moderate

DFW Airport gate line. Photo: Grant Wickes.

Travel to and within the United States expanded overall in March, according to the U.S. Travel Association’s latest Travel Trends Index (TTI), part of a moderating stable trend that TTI is forecasting for the remainder of the first half of this year.

Growth is being driven by “solid domestic leisure travel demand” and an “expected strengthening in international inbound visitation numbers,” TTI said in a press release.

The March Current Travel Index (CTI) registered 51.3 in March, showing overall growth in travel demand. The CTI has read above 50—indicating growth—for 75 straight months. After lagging behind domestic travel for much of 2015, international inbound travel to the U.S. “showed signs of life in March and is on track to pick up in the coming months,” TTI said.

Domestic business travel is down, however, TTI said. The business CTI dropped in March from 49.6 to 48, “as businesses remain cautious in the face of generally subdued business confidence and mixed global economic indicators.” TTI expects business travel to remain dampened “throughout the summer months.”