11 Charts Showing the Changing Nature of U.S. Outbound Travelers’ Trips

Those fighting for the direct bookings camp can add another small victory to their feather caps as more U.S. outbound travelers booked directly with brands rather than online travel agencies last year.

Based on data released from the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office a higher percentage of these travelers book directly with airlines compared to hotels but for both sectors direct bookings outnumber online travel agency bookings. For both sectors, booking directly is also far more popular than using a travel agent.

It appears U.S. travelers are also widening their reach in terms of where they travel internationally, not only hopping over to a sunny Caribbean beach, but exploring ancient ruins in Europe or backpacking through Asia. A higher percentage of U.S. travelers going abroad last year visited European destinations (35%) compared to the 24% who visited a Caribbean destination and 19% visited an Asian destination.

Below are 11 charts showing the state of booking, spending and transportation modes for U.S. outbound travelers:

Charts 1 and 2: Residents of the New York City metro travel the most internationally followed by the southeastern U.S. states.

Source: U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office

Chart 3: More overseas U.S. leisure travelers book directly with airlines than they use online travel agencies.

Source: U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office

Chart 4: The variation isn’t as large between U.S. overseas leisure travelers booking direct for lodging than it is for airlines. For all overseas U.S. travelers (including leisure and business) it’s 19% for booking lodging directly compared to 15% using online travel agencies and for leisure travelers it’s 20% and 17%, respectively.

Source: U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office

Chart 5: Some 60% of overseas U.S. leisure travelers stay in hotels (80% for business travelers) but 45% of leisure travelers stayed in private homes, which can include Airbnb and other home-share accommodations, and that number’s 24% for business travelers, highlighting the sharing economy’s already deep penetration into overseas U.S. travel for both business and leisure.

Source: U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office

Chart 6: Most U.S. overseas leisure and business travelers are repeat visitors or have traveled internationally before.

Source: U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office

Chart 7: This chart expounds the growing popularity of using private cars abroad which includes Uber and other on-demand car services. Overall 39% of overseas U.S. leisure travelers use these services and private cars when traveling internationally, and breaking down business vs. leisure shows business travelers use them slightly more.

Source: U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office

Charts 8 and 9: A higher percentage of U.S. outbound travelers visited Europe than the Caribbean last year.

Source: U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office

Chart 10: U.S. business travelers spend more than leisure travelers while they’re abroad.

Source: U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office

Chart 11: Nearly 78% of all U.S. international travelers fly economy class, with 80% of leisure travelers and 64% of business travelers choosing these fares.

Source: U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office