US Travel Continues the Boom
Interesting stats from Richard Dow, President of U.S. Travel Association, a trade organization based out of Washington, D.C. He stated at their trade industry’s annual gathering, the direct spending of $928 billion occurred on tourism and travel in the United States alone.
This had an estimated $2.1 trillion impact on the economy, supporting the 15 million jobs that are dependent on the hospitality and travel industries to sustain themselves. Domestic travel has grown 2 percent and international travel jumped forward growing nearly 4 percent.
Chile has recently started a reciprocal visa program with the United States. A travel visa is not required for travelers from Chile and U.S. travelers are not required to present a visa for entry to Chile.
Dow was quoted as stating he hoped to see some other countries like Brazil follow suit on that action, but it has not been adopted as of yet.