Travel Briefcase: More Americans are traveling abroad.
Travel to the nation is down, but trips from U.S. rose about 10% in first 11 months of 2017.
Travel experts cite a slew of reasons why the number of foreign visitors to the U.S. has been on the decline over the last two years.
But the opposite is happening when it comes to Americans venturing abroad.
In the first 11 months of 2017, the number of U.S. vacationers traveling abroad jumped nearly 10%, with the biggest increase seen in visitors going to Europe, Mexico and Africa, according to the latest data from the National Travel and Tourism Office, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
In raw numbers, that is nearly 80 million U.S. travelers going abroad, with 56% of them visiting Canada and Mexico and 44% traveling overseas, the agency reported. The reason for the rise has mostly to do with finances. Americans feel good about the economy and are ready to spend on international vacations, industry experts say. Plus, airfares have stayed relatively low.
The recession several years ago also created pentup demand for travel to Europe, said Marie Montgomery, a spokeswoman for the Auto Club of Southern California, which offers travel services for its members.
“That was a big driver,” she said.
In contrast, international visitation to the U.S. has been dropping, starting in March 2016 and continuing until August 2017, the most recent month for which the travel and tourism office has such data.
Travel industry experts attribute the drop to a strong U.S. dollar, which has made it more expensive for international visitors to travel to the U.S., plus President Trump’s harsh rhetoric against immigrants and his efforts to ban travel from several Muslim-majority countries.
Airlines protest proposed fee hike
A little over a year into the Trump administration, it might be fair to say that the U.S. airline industry has mixed feelings about the businessman-turned-president.
Three of the country’s biggest airlines — United, Delta and American — and their labor unions praised Trump last month for reaching a deal to get Qatar Airlines to restrict its flights to the U.S. and provide more financial information.
The deal came after years of complaints by U.S. carriers that accused Qatar, along with fellow Persian Gulf carriers Etihad and Emirates, of competing unfairly with U.S. airlines by accepting subsidies from their government owners.
“We are grateful to the Trump administration for working to restore a level playing field for the U.S. aviation industry,” Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastain said about the deal.
But last week, a trade group that represents those same U.S. airlines protested a proposal from the Trump administration to raise fees on airline tickets to collect nearly $3 billion.
A Trump budget plan would raise the passenger security fee charged to all fliers by $1 per one-way trip next year and $1.65 in 2020, raising the total fee in 2020 to $8.25 per one-way ticket.
The same budget proposal calls for a nearly $2 increase to two separate fees charged by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on travelers entering the country via boat or airplane.
“Increasing taxes in any form will add to the cost of flying for millions of Americans, curtail job growth and limit the options small and medium communities currently enjoy,” said Nicholas Calio, president and chief executive of Airlines for America, the trade group for the airlines.
United tests new boarding process
United Airlines, the third-largest carrier at Los Angeles International Airport, has started trying out a new way to board passengers that might reduce confusion and frustration.
“We’ve been testing different processes and soliciting feedback to find a more customer-friendly boarding method that also helps employees,” the airline said in a statement, adding that LAX was selected for the test because it has a good mixture of aircraft and travelers.
In the past, the Chicagobased carrier directed passengers at the airport terminals to queue up in five different lanes before the fliers were invited to board.
Under the test, which started this month and will last 30 days, United will still assign air travelers to five different groups. But the airline will create only two lanes in the boarding area.
Group one will board through the first lane and group two will board through the second lane. Once those passengers are on the plane, groups three through five will be called in order to board through the second lane, leaving the first lane open for any latecomers from the first two groups, United said. The new process will reduce the congestion around the boarding area by asking most fliers to remain seated while others are boarding or getting off the plane, the airline said in a message on its website.
“Fewer lines will create more space and easier access to the boarding door for customers exiting the plane from the previous flight and during preboarding,” the airline said.