MORE THAN 25 MILLION AMERICANS WILL TRAVEL OVERSEAS THIS SUMMER, ACCORDING TO AAA’S INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL FORECAST

NEWS from AAA Oklahoma, May 2 – In a first-ever summer forecast for foreign travel, AAA says it expects 25.1 million Americans to travel internationally this summer, an increase of 2.6 percent over the 24.5 million who were estimated to have traveled overseas last summer. The report includes all travel outside of the U. S., including to Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

According to the report, produced by Global Insight, American travelers are expected to spend $30.7 billion while traveling internationally this summer, a 5.7 percent increase from last year. The spending boost is due primarily to inflation and the weakness of the U.S. dollar compared to other major currencies.

Foreign travel by residents of the four-state region of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana is expected to be up this summer by the highest amount of any U.S. region. The report predicts that nearly 1.8 million people in the region will travel this summer, a 4.7 percent increase from last year, and they’ll spend $2.712 billion, up 8.5 percent from the $2.5 billion spent in the summer of 2007.

“Foreign destinations hold tremendous appeal for travelers, and for most of us, summer is the prime season to go,” said Krista Mullenger, vice president of Travel, AAA Oklahoma. “We’re finding that many Oklahomans are rearranging their budgets and postponing other trips so that they can travel abroad.”

AAA estimates China and India will receive the largest increases in numbers of travelers from the U.S. this summer, with China expected to see a 13.4 percent increase (573,000 American travelers) and India a 13.1 percent boost (227,000 American travelers). Travel to Canada and Mexico this summer is expected to be relatively flat with Canada down 0.8 percent, or 5 million American travelers, and Mexico up 1.3 percent, 5.8 million American travelers.

Many other destinations expected to see big increases this summer are in Europe. Travel from the U.S. to France is expected to be up 6.7 percent, 1.1 million American travelers; Ireland up 6.6 percent, 337,000 American travelers; Italy up 4.7 percent, 1.6 million American travelers; and Germany up 4.4 percent, 724,000 American travelers. These increases are consistent with AAA’s own travel bookings, which show a five percent increase in tours to Europe.

Among all foreign nations, Mexico will receive the greatest amount of American travel spending, $5.6 billion, followed by Canada, $4 billion. The next highest destinations for traveler spending are expected to be Italy, $2.6 billion; the United Kingdom, $2.0 billion; France, $1.7 billion; Germany, $1.2 billion; and Hong Kong, $645 million. 

“Oklahomans love to travel and now that so many more have passports as a result of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, we are seeing heightened interest among families and individuals looking to explore the world,” said Mullenger.

The Global Insight report is based on an economic model that includes data about the state of the U.S. economy, domestic spending, foreign exchange rates, historic travel data, travel inflation and other factors. It is the first forecast that looks at the number of Americans who will travel overseas during summer, the heaviest travel period of the year.

The report also provides a forecast for the number of U.S. residents traveling outside the country broken down by census region. To see the full report, visit AAA.com/news.

As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 51 million members (326,000 in Oklahoma) with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.  AAA Oklahoma can be visited on the Internet at www.AAA.com.