[Newspoetry] US tourism a trickle of big spenders

[Joe Futrelle]

The US (Associated Poets)

Data released by CNN today reveal that the US tourism industry is
being supported by no more than a handful of foreign visitors -- who
are apparently big spenders.  Since 1990, the number of foreign
tourists has increased from just over 39 to no more than 47.  However,
the total amount of money these 47 visitors spent during their stay in
the US was $73 billion, meaning that each one went on a spending spree
to the tune of an average of $1.5 billion.

While it's clear that the US is successfully attracting a rare class
of individuals as tourists, it's not at all clear why growth in the
tourism industry has been so sluggish.  Less clear is the accounting
methodology of Tourism Industries/ITA, the source of the data, which
gives fractional headcounts for most years in the 1990's.  Some
analysts are speculating that some of the tourists stayed over the new
year's holiday, and that their visits were thus prorated according to
the proportion of time spent in each year, but don't quote them on
it.  Some analysts think that the word "table" may be a hint, noting
that it has an orange arrow pointing at it.

http://www.cnn.com/2000/TRAVEL/NEWS/05/11/visiting.america/index.html

--
Joe Futrelle
Editor-within-chief,
Newspoetry dot com
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