Research Insights The U.S. is the first major travel market to surpass 2019 size

The U.S. is the first major travel market to surpass 2019 size

Published:
July 2023
Analyst:
Phocuswright Research

The U.S. economy continues to exhibit resilience and robustness, albeit not without encountering notable hurdles. Though the failure of three regional U.S. banks in March 2023 has had a modest economic impact, such events demonstrate that the economy is currently fragile, and that a financial disturbance could easily throw it into a recession. Even as the labor market has remained surprisingly strong overall, there have been massive layoffs at tech firms including Alphabet, Facebook, Salesforce, and Amazon. The prevailing geopolitical conflict initiated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, accompanied by a sluggish growth trajectory in Europe and China and challenges faced in supply-chain management, continue to pose obstacles for the economy.

However, Americans' enduring passion for travel has prevailed, even amidst considerable uncertainties. Remarkably, in 2022, they continued to assign greater value to travel when compared to other discretionary expenditures like home improvements, dining/nightlife and electronics.

According to Phocuswright’s latest travel research report U.S. Travel Market Report 2022-2026, the U.S. travel market grew by 51% to $422 billion in 2022, becoming the first major travel market globally to surpass its 2019 size.

Phocuswright Chart: US Total Travel Gross Bookings YOY Change 2019-2026
(Click image to view a larger version.)

Good news continues with research showing that all segments registered double-digit revenue increases in 2022.

U.S. Travel Market Report 2022-2026 and the entire report series features an overview of the U.S. travel market, along with detailed data and analysis of five key segments: airline, hotel & lodging, car rental, cruise and packaged travel. A standalone report dedicated to online travel agencies rounds out the coverage. Collectively, the series provides comprehensive market sizing and projections for the U.S. travel industry from 2019-2026, including analysis of key segments, share and trends, distribution and recovery dynamics by segment, and more.

Also available in the U.S. Travel Market Report 2022-2026 series:

For further intelligence for you and your entire company, subscribe to Phocuswright Open Access. This subscription puts the entire Phocuswright research library and powerful data visualization tools at your fingertips. There’s a reason executives around the world trust and reference Phocuswright research and data on a daily basis. Explore for yourself why.