If you want to see how fast the economy is recovering, look at travel numbers rather than job recovery.
According to a report by American Express, the travel and tourism segment that served as a bellwether to the recession and was clobbered most during the recession is now roaring back.
Leisure travel, the majority of tourism, wasn’t hit nearly as hard as business travel during this recession including a 30% free fall in convention and meeting travel.
Tourism is a sector involving a half dozen different industries. It is also one of the purest forms of community economic development and works like an export against an imbalance in the trade deficit.
Business travel overall has been in decline as a proportion of travel for several decades now and many corporate meetings, the vast proportion of all conventions and meetings, are giving way to technological alternatives.
Regardless of how much will return, it’s great to see business travel on the rebound and it means the rest of the economy won’t be far behind.
For more information and charts read the link to the American Express Report or a great summary at MarketingCharts.com .
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