MEDIA RELEASE

The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced that for the first three months of 2011, visitation (12.9 million) was up 2 percent compared to the same period in 2010.

However, in March 2011, travel to the United States was flat compared to March 2010 with 4.8 million international visitors to the United States.

In March 2011, declines were registered in six of the nine overseas regions. Part of the decline was expected since the Easter holidays occurred at the end of April 2011. In 2010, the Easter holidays were at the end of March through the beginning of April.

International visitors spent $11.8 billion in March 2011, 7 percent more than in March 2010. March 2011 marks the 15th consecutive month of growth in U.S. travel and tourism-related exports.

During the first three months of 2011, international visitors spent 9 percent more than they did during the first three months of 2010.

* Overseas Resident Visitation

March YTD 2011, overseas resident visits (5.4 million) were up 2 percent compared to the same period of 2010. In March 2011, overseas resident visitation (1.9 million) was down 6 percent over March 2010.

* North American Resident Visitation

March YTD 2011, non-resident visits from Canada grew 5 percent while visits from Mexico declined 3 percent. In March 2011, non-resident visits from Canada were up 5 percent and visits from Mexico were up 2 percent.

* Top 10 Countries (Sort based on YTD March 2011)

During the first three months of 2011, six of the top 10 countries posted increases in visitation to the United States. In March 2011, seven of the top 10 countries posted increases in resident visitation.

* Top Ports: YTD March 2011

YTD March 2011, visitation through the top 15 ports of entry accounted for 84 percent of all overseas visits – 1 percentage point below last year.

The top three ports (Miami, New York and Los Angeles) accounted for 41 percent of all overseas arrivals, more than one percentage point above last year.

Seven of the top 15 ports posted increases in arrivals during the first three months of 2011. Four of these ports posted double-digit increases.