Americans’ travel bug for Europe: too much of a good thing
The tourism-related trade gap shows the present strength of the U.S. economy, but is also a long-term vulnerability
Throw a stone in Manhattan, and chances are it will hit a New Yorker preparing for a European vacation. More Americans, especially wealthier ones, are packing their bags and heading to Europe, be it for a sojourn in Italy or an ancestor-hunting trip to Ireland, than vice versa. The phenomenon has created the biggest tourism-related trade gap in more than two decades. It shows the present strength of the U.S. economy, and also a long-term vulnerability.
To economists, when U.S. citizens go abroad and spend money, it counts as an import. When a visitor from Texas shells out for a room at the Ritz Paris and splurges on a meal at La Coupole, it’s treated conceptually, for the purposes of totting up trade flows, as if they brought those luxuries home with them. Conversely, a British group taking in a Broadway show or visiting the observation deck of the Empire State building counts as an export on the U.S. side of the ledger.
For decades, the U.S.-European travel trade balance hasn’t swung much in either direction. In 1999, the United States had a surplus of $1.4 billion, meaning that Europeans forked out more when visiting the country than the reverse. Last year, however, brought a $27.3 billion deficit, the largest recorded in the 2000s and 66% more than the deficit in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. That fits with other high-water marks: The Transportation Security Administration screened more than 3 million people at airports across the U.S. on July 7, the most during a single day since its founding in 2001.
Vacations aren’t just a financial decision, but an emotional one too — and Americans exited the pandemic with a heap of pent-up wanderlust. But the monetary tailwinds are undeniable. The strong dollar, and stubbornly high prices for some goods and services in the United States, are a siren call to take advantage of a perceived price arbitrage.
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | August 1, 2024 9:56 PM
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"Americans have enough money to travel. Let's try to twist this into a negative."
NYT is kicking themselves for not coming up with this angle.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | August 1, 2024 7:11 PM
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Capitalism relies on the unequal exchange of goods
Story at 11
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | August 1, 2024 7:15 PM
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I have friends just returned from Portugal and they said it was overrun with tourists and it was horrible
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | August 1, 2024 7:38 PM
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Why would Europeans want to come to the expensive US, where public transit sucks and everything is spread out, when they can hop on a cheap 2 hour flight to a different country and not have to change currency or get an ESTA?
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | August 1, 2024 7:52 PM
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I don’t care if I visit Europe again in my life or not.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | August 1, 2024 8:37 PM
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Honestly, I really want to see more of the US, especially the west. I also want to visit Canada.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | August 1, 2024 9:11 PM
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These days I’m staying at my properties only.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | August 1, 2024 9:18 PM
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R5: "Why would Europeans want to come to the expensive US ...."
Because they have seen our shows and movies. We are wild and chaotic and entertaining as fuck with an edge that they lack.
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | August 1, 2024 9:28 PM
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Boy, will they be disappointed.
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | August 1, 2024 9:35 PM
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Come to America! We have mass shootings, MAGAts, and you get to experience the joys of tipping anyone you come in contact with.
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | August 1, 2024 9:36 PM
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[quote]More Americans, especially wealthier ones, are packing their bags and heading to Europe, be it for a sojourn in Italy or an ancestor-hunting trip to Ireland, than vice versa.
[quote]The strong dollar, and stubbornly high prices for some goods and services in the United States, are a siren call to take advantage of a perceived price arbitrage.
Jesus, the article may have appeared in El Pais but it's the most American sounding nonsense I've read lately.
Ancestor-hunting trips, Italian sojourns, and "siren calls to take advantage of a perceived price arbitrage"... Is this a Power Point presentation in how to arbitrage HR-speak into advancing your career at Uniqo Advanced Systems Solutions?
[quote]US Dollar to Euro Exchange Rate is at a current level [7/2024] of 0.9239, down from 0.9245 the previous market day and up from 0.9072 one year ago. This is a change of -0.06% from the previous market day and 1.84% from one year ago.
And in fact the change over 5 years, even 10 years has been very small and the extremes very short-lived. Who flies across oceans to save less than 2-cents on the dollar? Siince she describes international holidays with an enthusiasm usually reserved for hard graft and actuaries, I suppose those big savings make sense to her.
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | August 1, 2024 9:56 PM
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