Trade war tensions and Kilauea trim tourism from SE Asia
The number of tourists arriving in the United States from the Asia Pacific region fell by 3.2%* last year, according to latest findings from ForwardKeys, which predicts future travel patterns by analysing 17 million flight booking transactions a day.
The Kilauea volcano eruption in Hawaii (a top destination for Japanese travellers to the US) contributed to a drop in US-bound tourism in the second half of 2018. In addition, the number of Chinese visitors to the US during the year remained flat (0.0% growth) amid the ongoing trade war between the two countries. Asia Pacific represents a 20% market share of US inbound travel.
On the plus-side, the ForwardKeys figures show a 3.2% increase in European visitors to the US compared with 2017, representing a 38% market share. But German tourists stayed away, down 8.7% on 2017.


New York City consolidated its position as the top US destination for international travellers, up 2.1%. The North East as whole grew by 2.8%. Fort Lauderdale, in the South, and Detroit, in the Midwest, were the fastest-growing destinations, up 12.8% and 12.5% respectively.
