U.S. Travel and Tourism Satellite Account for 2018–2023

By Hunter Arcand and Sarah Osborne | February 6, 2025

Today, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released updated national-level travel and tourism statistics from 2018 to 2022, with new statistics for 2023. These revised and newly available statistics primarily reflect the incorporation of source data from the 2024 annual update of BEA's National Economic Accounts, which include the Industry Economic Accounts.¹ Combined with new and revised tourism-specific source data, these improvements allow the Travel and Tourism Satellite Account (TTSA) to capture the dynamics of this sector with greater accuracy. BEA's Travel and Tourism Satellite Account is supported by funding from the National Travel and Tourism Office of the International Trade Administration.

The travel and tourism industry, as measured by the real output of goods and services sold directly to visitors, increased 7.0 percent in 2023 after increasing 20.8 percent in 2022.² By comparison, the broader economy, as measured by real gross domestic product (GDP), increased 2.9 percent in 2023 after increasing 2.5 percent in 2022.

Highlights from the TTSA include the following:

As the industry continued to recover from the COVID–19 pandemic, travel and tourism's share of GDP increased from 2.96 percent in 2022 to 3.03 percent in 2023 (table A).
The travel and tourism industry's real output increased $81 billion in 2023, recovering to the pre-COVID–19 pandemic levels seen in 2019 (table B).

In 2023, real output increased for 19 of 24 commodities. The largest contributors to the increase were food and beverage services, shopping, and traveler accommodations.

Prices for travel and tourism goods and services increased 2.3 percent in 2023 after increasing 12.5 percent in 2022. The largest contributors to the increase were food and beverage services, traveler accommodations, and domestic passenger air transportation services (table C).
The TTSA is available on the BEA website; see the box “Data Availability.”

The remainder of this article includes a discussion of trends in travel and tourism output, prices, value added, and employment.

Table A. Travel and Tourism as a Share of GDP in 2018–2023
	Billions of dollars		Percent	Revisions
Year	GDP	Tourism value added	Tourism value added as a share of GDP	GDP	Tourism value added	Tourism value added as a share of GDP
2018	20,657	601	2.91	0	−11	−0.05
2019	21,540	655	3.04	217	5	−0.01
2020	21,534	463	2.15	211	5	0.00
2021	23,681	653	2.76	87	1	−0.01
2022	26,007	771	2.96	263	7	0.00
2023	27,721	840	3.03	....	....	....

....: Because 2023 is newly estimated in this release, there are no revisions.
GDP: Gross domestic product

Real output

Travel and tourism real output increased 7.0 percent in 2023. The largest contributors were food and beverage services, shopping, traveler accommodations, and traveler arrangements and reservation services (table B and chart 1). The increases reflect the continued recovery of the travel and tourism industry after the COVID–19 pandemic.

Table B. Annual Growth, Contributions to Growth, and Levels of Real Output by Tourism Commodity in 2018–2023
Line	Commodity	Annual growth rates (percent change from preceding period)						Contributions (percentage points)						Real output (millions of chained 2017 dollars)


		2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
1	All tourism goods and services	5.1	3.3	−47.4	54.7	20.8	7.0	5.1	3.3	−47.4	54.7	20.8	7.0	1,134,648	1,171,544	616,223	953,480	1,151,758	1,232,720
2	Traveler accommodations	3.6	0.1	−32.4	20.7	21.3	7.0	0.7	0.0	−6.2	5.0	3.9	1.3	226,122	226,370	152,993	184,588	223,820	239,466
3	Food and beverage services	4.9	5.5	−54.7	105.6	8.8	16.8	0.6	0.7	−7.8	13.5	1.4	2.5	150,216	158,534	71,817	147,649	160,659	187,616
4	Transportation	6.6	5.5	−50.1	45.3	23.5	3.7	3.0	2.5	−23.2	19.8	10.1	1.6	521,746	550,188	274,471	398,720	492,530	510,592
5	Passenger air transportation	4.7	6.5	−53.9	61.5	30.9	0.9	0.9	1.2	−10.4	9.7	5.1	0.2	215,436	229,417	105,820	170,881	223,741	225,803
6	Domestic passenger air transportation services	6.5	5.6	−51.1	66.7	21.0	0.1	0.9	0.8	−7.4	8.4	2.8	0.0	164,621	173,849	85,014	141,683	171,375	171,545
7	International passenger air transportation services	−0.6	9.3	−62.3	41.4	79.3	3.8	0.0	0.4	−3.0	1.3	2.2	0.2	50,851	55,592	20,939	29,600	53,081	55,089
8	All other transportation-related commodities	7.9	4.7	−47.4	36.0	18.9	5.7	2.1	1.3	−12.8	10.1	5.0	1.4	306,227	320,738	168,604	229,380	272,815	288,262
9	Passenger rail transportation services	−2.7	10.2	−72.5	54.9	66.1	21.9	0.0	0.0	−0.2	0.1	0.1	0.0	2,364	2,605	715	1,108	1,841	2,244
10	Passenger water transportation services	13.0	2.6	−63.7	−42.7	295.8	24.4	0.2	0.0	−1.1	−0.5	1.2	0.3	19,834	20,350	7,380	4,231	16,744	20,836
11	Intercity bus services	0.5	0.6	−35.2	5.7	20.8	4.8	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1,714	1,725	1,117	1,181	1,426	1,495
12	Intercity charter bus services	4.8	7.0	−47.6	26.0	56.3	15.9	0.0	0.0	−0.1	0.1	0.1	0.0	2,483	2,657	1,392	1,754	2,740	3,175
13	Local bus and other transportation services	41.5	17.3	−74.3	240.3	16.0	42.4	0.3	0.2	−0.8	1.3	0.2	0.4	11,152	13,077	3,367	11,458	13,294	18,924
14	Taxicab services	−14.3	16.3	−52.7	73.3	15.5	13.4	−0.1	0.1	−0.3	0.4	0.1	0.1	6,093	7,086	3,351	5,808	6,710	7,606
15	Scenic and sightseeing transportation services	1.1	2.0	−47.6	66.5	21.1	2.2	0.0	0.0	−0.2	0.2	0.1	0.0	4,127	4,210	2,205	3,671	4,445	4,541
16	Automotive rental and leasing	13.3	19.1	−32.7	9.7	6.0	20.8	0.4	0.6	−1.2	0.5	0.2	0.6	36,295	43,211	29,088	31,906	33,830	40,857
17	Other vehicle rental and leasing	8.8	7.2	−22.1	−18.3	23.2	10.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	687	736	573	468	577	636
18	Automotive repair services	0.7	1.7	−7.6	−18.1	50.0	−1.4	0.0	0.0	−0.1	−0.4	0.5	0.0	12,239	12,449	11,501	9,417	14,129	13,928
19	Parking	1.4	2.7	−50.1	81.6	10.0	38.9	0.0	0.0	−0.1	0.2	0.0	0.1	2,737	2,812	1,402	2,546	2,801	3,889
20	Highway tolls	−5.2	−2.5	−52.8	95.9	2.5	40.4	0.0	0.0	−0.1	0.1	0.0	0.1	1,883	1,836	866	1,697	1,740	2,444
21	Travel arrangement and reservation services	10.1	6.2	−42.1	34.7	49.5	12.9	0.5	0.3	−2.2	1.9	2.2	0.7	59,882	63,577	36,828	49,601	74,138	83,671
22	Gasoline	6.0	0.2	−52.4	52.0	2.3	−7.4	0.8	0.0	−6.4	6.1	0.3	−0.9	144,895	145,185	69,067	104,983	107,367	99,379
23	Recreation, entertainment, and shopping	3.4	−0.2	−50.1	84.9	24.0	7.3	0.7	0.0	−10.2	16.5	5.4	1.6	236,439	235,947	117,791	217,795	270,090	289,700
24	Recreation and entertainment	3.5	−3.2	−45.2	55.8	14.7	−2.7	0.3	−0.3	−3.7	4.9	1.2	−0.2	97,016	93,886	51,467	80,211	91,984	89,486
25	Motion pictures and performing arts	19.7	−14.0	−54.5	58.8	47.1	−4.8	0.3	−0.3	−0.8	0.8	0.6	−0.1	20,476	17,605	8,002	12,709	18,701	17,811
26	Spectator sports	10.0	3.6	−43.0	84.2	−11.6	22.4	0.0	0.0	−0.2	0.5	−0.1	0.1	5,801	6,012	3,429	6,318	5,587	6,840
27	Participant sports	2.2	12.0	−44.9	68.2	14.2	6.7	0.0	0.2	−0.8	1.3	0.3	0.1	17,667	19,793	10,912	18,352	20,954	22,349
28	Gambling	1.4	0.7	−39.5	27.3	0.6	−4.1	0.1	0.0	−1.5	1.2	0.0	−0.1	43,701	43,993	26,624	33,901	34,117	32,721
29	All other recreation and entertainment	−14.5	−31.5	−62.0	271.7	41.6	−21.1	−0.1	−0.3	−0.3	1.1	0.4	−0.2	9,366	6,416	2,435	9,053	12,818	10,109
30	Shopping	3.3	1.9	−53.4	108.4	29.5	12.4	0.4	0.2	−6.5	11.7	4.2	1.9	139,423	142,100	66,183	137,895	178,543	200,659

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Chart 1. Contributions to Annual Growth in Real Tourism Output in 2018–2023

[View larger chart]

Prices

Travel and tourism prices decelerated in 2023, increasing 2.3 percent after increasing 12.5 percent in 2022, with prices of 21 of 24 commodities contributing to the increase (table C and chart 2). The increase was led by increases in food and beverage services, traveler accommodations, and domestic passenger air transportation services.

Table C. Annual Growth, Contributions to Growth, and Levels of Chain-Type Price Indexes for Tourism Commodities in 2018–2023
Line	Commodity	Annual growth rates (percent change from preceding period)						Contributions (percentage points)						Price Indexes (index number, 2017=100)


		2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
1	All tourism goods and services	3.3	1.3	−5.3	8.3	12.5	2.3	3.3	1.3	−5.3	8.3	12.5	2.3	103.3	104.6	99.1	107.2	120.6	123.4
2	Traveler accommodations	0.97	2.85	−7.04	7.76	9.12	4.14	0.20	0.55	−1.54	1.67	1.71	0.76	101.0	103.9	96.5	104.0	113.5	118.2
3	Food and beverage services	2.57	3.14	3.72	5.77	7.77	6.55	0.34	0.42	0.47	0.87	1.24	0.99	102.6	105.8	109.7	116.0	125.1	133.3
4	Transportation	5.15	0.29	−9.28	11.66	18.06	−0.27	2.35	0.14	−4.28	4.87	7.62	−0.12	105.2	105.5	95.7	106.8	126.1	125.8
5	Passenger air transportation	2.48	2.58	−9.28	−0.73	20.21	4.60	0.47	0.49	−1.71	−0.12	3.33	0.82	102.5	105.1	95.4	94.7	113.8	119.0
6	Domestic passenger air transportation services	1.82	3.39	−10.58	−0.20	22.33	5.47	0.26	0.49	−1.52	−0.03	2.91	0.75	101.8	105.3	94.1	93.9	114.9	121.2
7	International passenger air transportation services	4.52	0.04	−4.64	−2.96	12.21	1.68	0.21	0.00	−0.19	−0.10	0.42	0.07	104.5	104.6	99.7	96.8	108.6	110.4
8	All other transportation-related commodities	7.06	−1.26	−9.29	20.11	16.67	−3.58	1.88	−0.35	−2.56	4.99	4.29	−0.94	107.1	105.7	95.9	115.2	134.4	129.6
9	Passenger rail transportation services	1.64	−5.01	2.09	6.57	−0.92	1.90	0.00	−0.01	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.00	101.6	96.5	98.6	105.0	104.1	106.0
10	Passenger water transportation services	0.30	−0.70	−4.04	6.36	−0.92	1.91	0.01	−0.01	−0.06	0.05	−0.01	0.03	100.3	99.6	95.6	101.7	100.7	102.7
11	Intercity bus services	0.29	−0.61	−4.26	6.57	−0.92	1.90	0.00	0.00	−0.01	0.01	0.00	0.00	100.3	99.7	95.4	101.7	100.8	102.7
12	Intercity charter bus services	0.30	−0.72	−3.67	5.94	−0.82	1.84	0.00	0.00	−0.01	0.01	0.00	0.00	100.3	99.6	95.9	101.6	100.8	102.6
13	Local bus and other transportation services	1.77	1.10	−1.47	1.94	3.54	0.86	0.02	0.01	−0.01	0.02	0.04	0.01	101.8	102.9	101.4	103.3	107.0	107.9
14	Taxicab services	1.69	1.12	−1.82	2.22	3.55	0.90	0.01	0.01	−0.01	0.01	0.02	0.00	101.7	102.8	101.0	103.2	106.9	107.8
15	Scenic and sightseeing transportation services	2.35	2.34	1.50	1.36	3.70	5.49	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.02	102.3	104.7	106.3	107.8	111.7	117.9
16	Automotive rental and leasing	2.22	−0.48	−6.07	29.29	6.08	−4.54	0.07	−0.02	−0.25	1.14	0.22	−0.15	102.2	101.7	95.6	123.5	131.0	125.1
17	Other vehicle rental and leasing	−0.99	0.59	1.23	47.87	1.63	−8.56	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.03	0.00	−0.01	99.0	99.6	100.8	149.1	151.5	138.5
18	Automotive repair services	1.88	3.33	3.27	4.10	7.93	11.21	0.02	0.04	0.05	0.06	0.09	0.13	101.9	105.3	108.7	113.2	122.1	135.8
19	Parking	2.29	2.79	0.67	3.54	2.77	3.24	0.01	0.01	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.01	102.3	105.1	105.8	109.6	112.6	116.3
20	Highway tolls	2.29	2.79	0.67	3.54	2.77	3.24	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.00	0.01	102.3	105.1	105.8	109.6	112.6	116.3
21	Travel arrangement and reservation services	0.52	2.08	−7.38	0.43	4.04	4.12	0.03	0.11	−0.41	0.02	0.21	0.22	100.5	102.6	95.0	95.4	99.3	103.4
22	Gasoline	13.46	−3.57	−15.16	34.64	31.22	−10.32	1.71	−0.49	−1.87	3.60	3.69	−1.22	113.5	109.4	92.8	125.0	164.0	147.1
23	Recreation, entertainment, and shopping	2.07	0.75	0.20	3.92	8.21	3.10	0.44	0.15	0.04	0.85	1.90	0.70	102.1	102.8	103.0	107.1	115.9	119.5
24	Recreation and entertainment	2.28	1.98	1.44	2.88	5.27	4.77	0.20	0.16	0.12	0.26	0.44	0.35	102.3	104.3	105.8	108.9	114.6	120.1
25	Motion pictures and performing arts	2.08	1.87	1.38	3.93	5.10	5.80	0.04	0.03	0.02	0.05	0.08	0.08	102.1	104.0	105.4	109.6	115.1	121.8
26	Spectator sports	1.80	2.05	3.33	−3.35	−4.20	7.63	0.01	0.01	0.02	−0.02	−0.02	0.03	101.8	103.9	107.3	103.7	99.4	107.0
27	Participant sports	2.85	2.65	1.37	0.91	3.68	4.05	0.05	0.04	0.02	0.02	0.07	0.07	102.9	105.6	107.0	108.0	112.0	116.5
28	Gambling	2.44	1.81	1.36	4.62	7.96	4.11	0.10	0.07	0.05	0.19	0.27	0.11	102.4	104.3	105.7	110.6	119.4	124.3
29	All other recreation and entertainment	1.20	1.52	0.47	1.89	4.72	5.15	0.01	0.01	0.00	0.01	0.05	0.05	101.2	102.7	103.2	105.2	110.1	115.8
30	Shopping	1.94	−0.09	−0.71	4.64	9.87	2.31	0.24	−0.01	−0.08	0.60	1.46	0.35	101.9	101.8	101.1	105.8	116.3	118.9

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Chart 2. Contributions to Annual Growth in the Chain-Type Price Index for Tourism Goods and Services in 2018–2023

[View larger chart]

Total output

Total tourism-related current-dollar, or nominal, output increased to $2.64 trillion in 2023, up from $2.39 trillion in 2022. In 2023, total output consisted of $1.52 trillion in direct tourism output and $1.12 trillion in indirect tourism output. The 1.73 ratio of total output to direct output in 2023 means that every dollar of direct tourism output required an additional 73 cents of indirect tourism output (chart 3).

Direct tourism output includes goods and services sold directly to visitors, such as passenger air travel. Indirect tourism output includes sales of all goods and services used to produce that direct output, such as jet fuel to fly the plane and catering services for longer flights.

Chart 3. Total Tourism-Related Output in 2018–2023

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Value added

A sector's value added measures its share of GDP. The travel and tourism industry's share of GDP was 3.03 percent in 2023, 2.96 percent in 2022, and 2.76 in 2021 (table A). This pattern indicates that travel and tourism industries contracted and expanded disproportionately to non-travel and tourism industries during the COVID–19 pandemic.

Direct employment

Direct tourism employment refers to jobs that are directly related to visitor spending on goods and services. Airline pilots, hotel clerks, and travel agents are examples of such employees. Overall, direct employment increased by 613,000 jobs in 2023 after increasing by 734,000 jobs in 2022. This was after increasing by 1.4 million jobs in 2021. The largest contributors to the 2023 increase were food services and drinking places, which gained 292,000 jobs; shopping, which gained 101,000 jobs; and traveler accommodations, which gained 97,000 jobs (chart 4 and table D).

Chart 4. Contributions to Annual Growth in Direct Tourism Employment in 2018–2023

[View larger chart]

Table D. Annual Growth, Contributions to Growth, and Levels of Direct Employment by Tourism Industry in 2018–2023
Line	Commodity	Annual growth rates (percent change from preceding period)						Contributions (percentage points)						Direct employment (thousands)
Line	Commodity	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
1	All tourism industries	2.8	3.2	−42.5	38.9	14.4	10.5	2.8	3.2	−42.5	38.9	14.4	10.5	6,192	6,393	3,677	5,107	5,841	6,454
2	Traveler accommodations	1.77	2.12	−33.88	10.48	15.86	7.22	0.4	0.5	−8.4	3.0	3.6	1.7	1,555	1,588	1,050	1,160	1,344	1,441
3	Vacation home rentals	0.00	0.00	−8.33	−18.18	0.00	0.00	0.0	0.0	−0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	12	12	11	9	9	9
4	Food services and drinking places	3.50	5.12	−54.48	83.26	10.13	16.48	1.0	1.5	−16.4	19.9	3.2	5.0	1,835	1,929	878	1,609	1,772	2,064
5	Transportation	4.22	4.18	−29.98	17.45	13.70	7.69	1.0	1.0	−7.4	5.2	3.5	1.9	1,508	1,571	1,100	1,292	1,469	1,582
6	Air transportation services	3.35	3.96	−26.47	12.00	18.28	9.95	0.3	0.4	−2.4	1.4	1.7	1.0	556	578	425	476	563	619
7	All other transportation-related industries	4.73	4.31	−32.02	20.89	11.03	6.29	0.7	0.7	−5.0	3.8	1.8	1.0	952	993	675	816	906	963
8	Rail transportation services	−11.11	12.50	−66.67	33.33	50.00	33.33	0.0	0.0	−0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	8	9	3	4	6	8
9	Water transportation services	6.12	7.69	−57.14	−41.67	192.86	31.71	0.0	0.1	−0.5	−0.3	0.5	0.2	52	56	24	14	41	54
10	Interurban bus transportation	0.00	4.55	−26.09	5.88	5.56	10.53	0.0	0.0	−0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	22	23	17	18	19	21
11	Interurban charter bus transportation	4.76	4.55	−30.43	12.50	5.56	10.53	0.0	0.0	−0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	22	23	16	18	19	21
12	Urban transit systems and other transportation	30.56	10.64	−68.27	178.79	0.00	33.70	0.4	0.2	−1.1	1.6	0.0	0.5	94	104	33	92	92	123
13	Taxi service	−35.71	0.00	−44.44	60.00	−12.50	0.00	−0.1	0.0	−0.1	0.1	0.0	0.0	9	9	5	8	7	7
14	Scenic and sightseeing transportation services	0.00	3.23	−43.75	27.78	21.74	3.57	0.0	0.0	−0.2	0.1	0.1	0.0	31	32	18	23	28	29
15	Automotive equipment rental and leasing	10.34	12.50	−36.11	15.94	5.00	16.67	0.1	0.2	−0.6	0.3	0.1	0.2	96	108	69	80	84	98
16	Automotive repair services	−2.00	−2.04	−2.08	−23.40	47.22	7.55	0.0	0.0	0.0	−0.3	0.3	0.1	49	48	47	36	53	57
17	Parking lots and garages	4.76	4.55	−43.48	69.23	−4.55	23.81	0.0	0.0	−0.2	0.2	0.0	0.1	22	23	13	22	21	26
18	Toll highways	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1	1	1	1	1	1
19	Travel arrangement and reservation services	1.59	1.25	−6.50	5.63	5.96	−3.25	0.1	0.1	−0.3	0.5	0.4	−0.2	319	323	302	319	338	327
20	Petroleum refineries	0.00	0.00	−50.00	100.00	0.00	0.00	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2	2	1	2	2	2
21	Gasoline service stations	4.17	3.11	−45.69	42.06	8.94	−3.08	0.1	0.1	−1.7	1.4	0.3	−0.1	225	232	126	179	195	189
22	Recreation, entertainment, and shopping	0.00	1.00	1.09	−49.80	61.06	20.05	0.2	0.2	−7.9	8.5	3.2	1.5	997	1,007	1,018	511	823	988
23	Recreation and entertainment	0.00	1.92	0.94	−48.60	50.55	15.46	0.2	0.1	−4.1	3.8	1.3	0.2	520	530	535	275	414	478
24	Motion pictures and performing arts	0.00	16.67	−14.29	−61.11	42.86	50.00	0.0	0.0	−0.2	0.1	0.1	0.0	18	21	18	7	10	15
25	Spectator sports	0.00	12.77	−7.55	−44.90	48.15	20.00	0.1	−0.1	−0.3	0.4	0.2	0.1	47	53	49	27	40	48
26	Participant sports	0.00	2.02	9.52	−53.26	66.67	14.42	0.1	0.4	−2.3	2.3	0.6	0.2	247	252	276	129	215	246
27	Gambling	0.00	2.84	1.38	−35.37	7.37	2.94	0.1	0.0	−0.8	0.2	0.1	0.0	141	145	147	95	102	105
28	All other recreation and entertainment	0.00	−11.94	−23.73	−62.22	176.47	36.17	−0.1	−0.2	−0.4	0.8	0.3	−0.1	67	59	45	17	47	64
29	Shopping	0.00	0.00	1.26	−51.14	73.31	24.69	0.0	0.1	−3.9	4.7	2.0	1.3	477	477	483	236	409	510
30	Industries producing nondurable PCE commodities, excluding petroleum refineries	0.00	0.78	3.08	−52.99	85.71	28.21	0.0	0.1	−1.1	1.5	0.6	0.4	129	130	134	63	117	150
31	Retail trade services, excluding gasoline service stations	0.00	−0.29	0.58	−50.43	68.79	23.29	0.0	0.0	−2.8	3.2	1.3	0.9	348	347	349	173	292	360
32	All other industries	7.81	2.23	0.00	−53.82	68.50	21.03	0.0	0.0	−0.8	1.0	0.5	0.2	269	275	275	127	214	259
33	All other industries, excluding Wholesale trade and transportation services	25.81	2.11	−3.09	−56.38	87.80	31.17	0.0	0.0	−0.8	1.0	0.5	0.2	95	97	94	41	77	101
34	Wholesale trade and transportation services	0.00	2.30	1.69	−52.49	59.30	15.33	0.1	0.0	−1.5	1.4	0.4	0.2	174	178	181	86	137	158

PCE: Personal consumption expenditures

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Total employment

Total tourism-related employment (the sum of direct and indirect jobs) increased to 10.0 million jobs in 2023 from 9.1 million jobs in 2022. The 10.0 million jobs consisted of 6.5 million direct tourism jobs and 3.6 million indirect tourism jobs (chart 5). While direct tourism employment includes jobs that produce direct tourism output, such as airline pilots, indirect tourism employment is generated by the businesses that supply goods and services to the tourism sector, such as refinery workers producing jet fuel. Data for 2023 indicate that for every 100 jobs supported directly by the travel and tourism industry, an additional 55 indirect tourism jobs were also required.

Chart 5. Total Tourism-Related Employment in 2018–2023

[View larger chart]

Key Terms

The following key terms are used to describe the Travel and Tourism Satellite Account.

Domestic tourism. Travel-related expenditures by U.S. residents traveling within the United States. It comprises travel by resident households, business travel, and travel by government employees.
Inbound tourism. Travel-related expenditures by nonresidents traveling within the United States and expenditures by nonresidents on international transportation purchased from U.S. providers. These expenditures exclude expenditures for travel to study in the United States and for medical reasons.¹
Tourism commodities. Goods and services that are typically purchased by visitors, such as airline passenger transportation, hotel accommodations, and meals.²
Tourism employment. Total tourism-related employment consists of direct tourism employment plus indirect tourism employment. Direct tourism employment comprises all jobs where the workers are engaged in the production of direct tourism output (for example, hotel staff and airline pilots), and indirect tourism employment comprises all jobs where the workers are engaged in the production of indirect tourism output (for example, workers producing hotel toiletries and delivering fuel to airlines).
Tourism output. Total tourism-related output consists of direct tourism output and indirect tourism output. Direct tourism output comprises all domestically produced goods and services purchased by travelers (for example, traveler accommodations and passenger air transportation), and indirect tourism output comprises all output required to support the production of direct tourism output (for example, toiletries for hotel guests and fuel for airplanes).
Visitor. A person who travels outside of his or her usual environment (more than 50–100 miles from the area of normal, everyday activities) for less than a year or who stays overnight in a hotel or motel.³ The visitor may travel for pleasure or business (private sector or government). Visitors exclude travelers who expect to be compensated at the location of their visit (such as migrant workers, persons traveling to new assignments, and diplomatic and military personnel traveling to and from their duty stations and their home countries).

In the TTSA, inbound and outbound visitors are not differentiated by type of visitor, because the data to prepare these estimates are not available.
The classification of tourism commodities in the TTSA is based on a list of primary activities of visitors that was developed from recommendations by the U.N. World Tourism Organization, by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and from various surveys of U.S. visitors.
The distance criterion differs by source data. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditures Surveys use 75 miles from home; private surveys by the U.S. Travel Association and surveys by D.K. Shifflet & Associates use 50 miles from home.

For more information, see Lisa S. Mataloni and Stephanie H. McCulla, “The 2024 Annual Update of the National Economic Accounts,” Survey of Current Business (October 31, 2024).
All measures of travel and tourism activity not identified as being in “real,” or inflation-adjusted, terms are current-dollar, or nominal, estimates

U.S. Travel and Tourism Satellite Account for 2018–2023

Trends in Output and Prices

Real output

Prices

Total output

Tourism Value Added and Employment

Value added

Direct employment

Total employment

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