Economic Impact Study Estimates
updated June 22, 2020
Total travel spending for the US is expected to decrease by 45% by year end. This represents a decrease of domestic travel spending from $972 billion in 2019 to $583 billion this year. International spending is expected to decrease from $155 billion in 2019 to just $39 billion this year. While the US Economy is currently in a recession, the latest findings show that the travel industry is actually in a depression with unemployment now reaching 51%. This is twice the unemployment of the Great Depression.
Source: Tourism Economics
- The Great Travel Depression - U.S. Travel Association/Tourism Economics (PDF)
- U.S. Travel Forecast - June 2020, U.S. Travel Association (PDF)
- The Economic Impact of the Coronavirus Due to Travel Losses - 2020 Analysis by Tourism Economics (3/24/2020)
- South Dakota Financial Metrics/Dashboards - South Dakota Bureau of Finance and Management
- COVID-19 Research Weekly Updates - South Dakota Department of Tourism