U.S. Tourism Grows 1.1% in 3rd Quarter

The U.S. tourism industry grew 1.1% in the third quarter as sales of food, recreation and entertainment spending outweighed a 17.6% plunge in airfares, the government said.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said third-quarter tourism sales rose to $973.3 billion.

The travel industry, which has recorded eight straight quarters of growth, has handily exceeded the significant pullback it experienced in consumer travel spending after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Hotel accommodations, airfares and souvenirs, or direct tourism sales, accounted for $550.9 billion of the total. Passenger air transportation, which grew 16.6% in the second quarter, dropped 17.6% to $92 billion, led by a decline in airfares and a drop in passenger volume.