Weak Dollar Lures Travelers to U.S.
Sat Dec 25, 7:58 AM ET Business - Reuters
By Deena Beasley
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A weaker U.S. dollar is fueling pent-up demand
for overseas travel to the United States, helping to pad the bottom
lines of hotels and tourist attractions.
Exchange rates "are having a terrific impact on our business,
particularly in east coast cities like New York, Boston and Orlando,"
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:HOT - news) spokeswoman
K.C. Kavanagh said on Tuesday. "December has been packed with European
travelers coming here to Christmas shop."
This year the nation is on track to post the first increase in inbound
travel since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to the Travel
Industry Association of America.
"What is fueling this is a combination of pent-up demand for travel to
the U.S. and phenomenal exchange rates," said Cathy Keefe, a
spokeswoman with the travel association.
The U.S. dollar is near an all-time low against the euro, which began
circulating in January 2002, and is close to a five-year low against
the Japanese yen. The British pound is trading at nearly two to a
dollar.
"It's a big bargain to come out here. If you get a decent airfare you
can go shopping and still be ahead of the game," said Dieter
Huckestein, president of hotel operations owned and managed at Hilton
Hotels Corp. (NYSE:HLT - news).
He said business is up about 40 percent in Hawaii compared with a year
ago, driven by Asian tourism, and hotel demand is also up
substantially in New York and Florida as European visitors flock to
the east coast.
After 2001, travel to the United States plummeted amid terrorism fears
compounded by a worldwide economic slump, the build-up to the war in
Iraq (news - web sites) and the war itself.
The trade association projects that the nation will host 43.5 million
international tourists this year, up 7.5 percent from last year. In
2000, the total of foreign visitors reached 51 million.
VISITS UP BY DOUBLE DIGITS
Through September, U.S. inbound travel was up 12.5 percent compared
with a year earlier, while travel from Western Europe was up 15.3
percent and visits from Asia rose 22.5 percent.
Attendance has grown by double digits this year at Universal Studios
Hollywood, according to Don Skeoch, the theme park's senior vice
president of marketing and sales. "Demand is strong from our key
markets of the Pacific Rim -- Japan, China, Korea and Australia -- as
well as Mexico and Canada. We also do strong business out of the
U.K.," he said.
In addition to currency rates, Skeoch attributed the pick-up in
international visits to waning terrorism fears and new movie-themed
park attractions such as the Revenge of the Mummy ride.
Hilton's Huckestein said the absence of a big health scare, like SARS
(news - web sites) or the Avian flu, is also helping tourism to
recover.
Marriott International (NYSE:MAR - news) is seeing a 30 percent uptick
in European arrivals at its properties in San Francisco, and a 10
percent increase in New York, according to spokesman John Wolf.
"We're also allotting more rooms to overseas travel agents -- the
folks who book package deals," he said.
The Marriott Marquis in New York's Times Square has more than 1,600
employees who speak 70 languages and dialects.
"It's been a very long recovery in international travel, but people
are more confident now," said the Travel Industry Association's Keefe.
"Not only are there more tourists, but they are spending a lot more
money -- extending their trip, taking side trips and eating at more
expensive restaurants."
But the biggest impact has been on shopping, which is always a big
draw for international visitors, she said.
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"Why would I listen to losers?" -- Arnold Schwarzenegger
"Long term commitment in relationships is only necessary because it takes
so damn long to raise children. Marriage may well be some kind of trick
to keep the males around beyond sexual satiation." -- Captain Compassion
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Joseph R. Darancette
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