LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A weaker U.S. dollar is fueling pent-up demand for overseas travel to the United States, helping to pad the bottom lines of hotels and tourist attractions.
Exchange rates "are having a terrific impact on our business, particularly in east coast cities like New York, Boston and Orlando," Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:HOT - news) spokeswoman K.C. Kavanagh said on Tuesday. "December has been packed with European travelers coming here to Christmas shop."
This year the nation is on track to post the first increase in inbound travel since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.
"What is fueling this is a combination of pent-up demand for travel to the U.S. and phenomenal exchange rates," said Cathy Keefe, a spokeswoman with the travel association.
The U.S. dollar is near an all-time low against the euro, which began circulating in January 2002, and is close to a five-year low against the Japanese yen. The British pound is trading at nearly two to a dollar.
"It's a big bargain to come out here. If you get a decent airfare you can go shopping and still be ahead of the game," said Dieter Huckestein, president of hotel operations owned and managed at Hilton Hotels Corp. (NYSE:HLT - news).
He said business is up about 40 percent in Hawaii compared with a year ago, driven by Asian tourism, and hotel demand is also up substantially in New York and Florida as European visitors flock to the east coast.
After 2001, travel to the United States plummeted amid terrorism fears compounded by a worldwide economic slump, the build-up to the war in Iraq (news - web sites) and the war itself.
The trade association projects that the nation will host 43.5 million international tourists this year, up 7.5 percent from last year. In 2000, the total of foreign visitors reached 51 million.
VISITS UP BY DOUBLE DIGITS
Through September, U.S. inbound travel was up 12.5 percent compared with a year earlier, while travel from Western Europe was up 15.3 percent and visits from Asia rose 22.5 percent.
Attendance has grown by double digits this year at Universal Studios Hollywood, according to Don Skeoch, the theme park's senior vice president of marketing and sales. "Demand is strong from our key markets of the Pacific Rim -- Japan, China, Korea and Australia -- as well as Mexico and Canada. We also do strong business out of the U.K.," he said.
In addition to currency rates, Skeoch attributed the pick-up in international visits to waning terrorism fears and new movie-themed park attractions such as the Revenge of the Mummy ride.
Hilton's Huckestein said the absence of a big health scare, like SARS (news - web sites) or the Avian flu, is also helping tourism to recover.
Marriott International (NYSE:MAR - news) is seeing a 30 percent uptick in European arrivals at its properties in San Francisco, and a 10 percent increase in New York, according to spokesman John Wolf.
"We're also allotting more rooms to overseas travel agents -- the folks who book package deals," he said.
The Marriott Marquis in New York's Times Square has more than 1,600 employees who speak 70 languages and dialects.
"It's been a very long recovery in international travel, but people are more confident now," said the Travel Industry Association's Keefe. "Not only are there more tourists, but they are spending a lot more money -- extending their trip, taking side trips and eating at more expensive restaurants."
But the biggest impact has been on shopping, which is always a big draw for international visitors, she said.
Source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041225/bs_nm/leisure_travel_usdollar_dc_1
The U.S. dollar is near an all-time low against the euro, which began circulating in January 2002, and is close to a five-year low against the Japanese yen. The British pound is trading at nearly two to a dollar.
Shit (pardon my french) That is really bad for America.. No thanks to Bush but europeans would want to thank him for helping the economy growing and powerful in Europe though...
Exchange rates "are having a terrific impact on our business, particularly in east coast cities like New York, Boston and Orlando," Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:HOT - news) spokeswoman K.C. Kavanagh said on Tuesday. "December has been packed with European travelers coming here to Christmas shop."
This year the nation is on track to post the first increase in inbound travel since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.
"What is fueling this is a combination of pent-up demand for travel to the U.S. and phenomenal exchange rates," said Cathy Keefe, a spokeswoman with the travel association.
The U.S. dollar is near an all-time low against the euro, which began circulating in January 2002, and is close to a five-year low against the Japanese yen. The British pound is trading at nearly two to a dollar.
"It's a big bargain to come out here. If you get a decent airfare you can go shopping and still be ahead of the game," said Dieter Huckestein, president of hotel operations owned and managed at Hilton Hotels Corp. (NYSE:HLT - news).
He said business is up about 40 percent in Hawaii compared with a year ago, driven by Asian tourism, and hotel demand is also up substantially in New York and Florida as European visitors flock to the east coast.
After 2001, travel to the United States plummeted amid terrorism fears compounded by a worldwide economic slump, the build-up to the war in Iraq (news - web sites) and the war itself.
The trade association projects that the nation will host 43.5 million international tourists this year, up 7.5 percent from last year. In 2000, the total of foreign visitors reached 51 million.
VISITS UP BY DOUBLE DIGITS
Through September, U.S. inbound travel was up 12.5 percent compared with a year earlier, while travel from Western Europe was up 15.3 percent and visits from Asia rose 22.5 percent.
Attendance has grown by double digits this year at Universal Studios Hollywood, according to Don Skeoch, the theme park's senior vice president of marketing and sales. "Demand is strong from our key markets of the Pacific Rim -- Japan, China, Korea and Australia -- as well as Mexico and Canada. We also do strong business out of the U.K.," he said.
In addition to currency rates, Skeoch attributed the pick-up in international visits to waning terrorism fears and new movie-themed park attractions such as the Revenge of the Mummy ride.
Hilton's Huckestein said the absence of a big health scare, like SARS (news - web sites) or the Avian flu, is also helping tourism to recover.
Marriott International (NYSE:MAR - news) is seeing a 30 percent uptick in European arrivals at its properties in San Francisco, and a 10 percent increase in New York, according to spokesman John Wolf.
"We're also allotting more rooms to overseas travel agents -- the folks who book package deals," he said.
The Marriott Marquis in New York's Times Square has more than 1,600 employees who speak 70 languages and dialects.
"It's been a very long recovery in international travel, but people are more confident now," said the Travel Industry Association's Keefe. "Not only are there more tourists, but they are spending a lot more money -- extending their trip, taking side trips and eating at more expensive restaurants."
But the biggest impact has been on shopping, which is always a big draw for international visitors, she said.
Source: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041225/bs_nm/leisure_travel_usdollar_dc_1
The U.S. dollar is near an all-time low against the euro, which began circulating in January 2002, and is close to a five-year low against the Japanese yen. The British pound is trading at nearly two to a dollar.
Shit (pardon my french) That is really bad for America.. No thanks to Bush but europeans would want to thank him for helping the economy growing and powerful in Europe though...
