MasterCard 2015 Global Destination Cities Index

Driven by insights into travel patterns, the Global Destinations Cities Index [PDF] provides a ranking of the 132 most visited cities around the world. More than just a travel tracker, the Index delivers deeper understanding of how people move around the world and speaks to the importance and prominence of the world’s cities as homes, destinations and engines of growth.

According to the study, London is projected to receive 18.82 million international visitors in 2015, just slightly ahead of second-ranked Bangkok. The two cities have topped the Index throughout its five-year history...

...In 2015, it is expected that nearly 383 million overnight trips will be made by international visitors between the Index’s 132 cities, representing a massive demand for goods, services and experiences as they spend at total of US$360 billion during their visits.

According to the UN report on World Urbanization Prospects, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. By forecasting the number of international overnight travelers, the Global Destination Cities Index shows the infrastructure needed to meet the expectations of both locals and visitors.

January 2011 Airline System Traffic Up 2.2 Percent from January 2010

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported that U.S. airlines carried 53.7 million scheduled domestic and international passengers in January 2011. This is a 2.2 percent increase from January 2010. The January 2011 passenger total was 3.7 percent above that of two years ago in January 2009 but still remained 6.9 percent below the early recession level of 57.7 million in January 2008.

Industry Expects 800 Million More Travelers by 2014

The industry consensus forecast released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) indicates that by 2014 there will be 3.3 billion air travelers, up by 800 million from the 2.5 billion in 2009. By 2014 international aviation will handle 38 million tonnes of air cargo, up 12.5 million tonnes from the 26 million tonnes carried in 2009.

China will be the biggest contributor of new travelers...


By 2014, the top five countries for international travel measured by number of passengers will be the United States (at 215 million, an increase of 45 million), the United Kingdom (at 198 million with an increase of 33 million), Germany (at 163 million with an increase of 29 million), Spain (123 million with an increase of 21 million), and France (111 million with an increase of 21 million)...

By 2014 the five largest markets for domestic passengers will be the United States (671 million), China (379 million), Japan (102 million), Brazil (90 million) and India (69 million)...

More HERE.

2010 Airline Rankings

From the Wall Street Journal

Big was bad when it came to airline service last year. Delta, American, United and its merger partner Continental placed last in the annual Middle Seat customer-service rankings of major domestic carriers in 2010.

Best among major airlines: smaller carriers. Alaska Airlines and AirTran Airways had the highest percentages of on-time flights and generally lower rates of lost bags, cancellations, passengers bumped from oversold flights and complaints filed with the Department of Transportation. Those two airlines were the only two majors to decrease their complaint totals in 2010—the rest shot higher.

Airline Scorecard: Which Carriers Were Best in 2010?

One source of the data was Flight Stats, which is a useful site for tracking flight status and airport delays on a regular basis.

TSA's Secure Flight

Turning the calendar to November 1 means that airline passengers are now "required to provide complete Secure Flight passenger data when booking reservations so [the Transportation Security Administration or] TSA can conduct watch list matching and approve airlines to issue a boarding pass. To avoid unnecessary delays and prevent misidentifications, passengers should provide complete Secure Flight data - their name, date of birth, and gender as it appears on a recognized government ID - when booking airline travel, whether they have booked directly with the airline, a travel agent or an online booking site.

More HERE.

2009 USA tourism report

2009 year in review for travel from ITA. And what a not-good year it was, comparable with 2001.

2008 Traffic Data for U.S and Foreign Airlines: Total Passengers Down 3.5 Percent from 2007

The number of scheduled domestic and international passengers on U.S. airlines and on flights to and from the United States on foreign airlines declined in 2008 by 3.5 percent from 2007, dropping to 809 million, the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported.

U.S. Domestic Airline Fee Chart

Even though $140/bbl oil seems to be temporarily off the table, the airlines still tack on fees from reservation by phone to baggage to food. Here's a table that should help.

Temporary Travel Flexibility Permitted Within Western Hemisphere

As you probably know, the government is now requiring U.S. citizens to use passports when they travel by plane to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. This has led to a huge backlog in the passport application process, doubling the time of routine processing from six weeks to nearly three months, jeopardizing summer 2007 travel plans.

The U.S. Department of State announced on Friday that that citizens flying to those locations who have applied for but not yet received passports can, between now and September 30, enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport. One can get that proof online by going here.

See the video on the State Department web page.