Be Prepared – International Travel to the U.S. is on Rise
A typical flight from Shanghai, China to New York City is over 15 hours. A flight from London to Phoenix is approximately 11 hours and four minutes. And if you’re traveling from Australia to Los Angeles, California be prepared to spend about 17 hours in the air.
Although those numbers are high, more and more people are traveling to the United States as international travel is on the rise. And the tourism and hotel industry is taking notice.
According to the United States Commerce Department, 66 million tourists traveled to the U.S. and spent more than $168 billion last year. It was estimated that international visitors shelled out $14.4 billion this past January alone, which is an increase of 11 percent since January 2012. Because of these findings, tourism industry officials began looking for new ways to continue the increase of foreign travelers.
That’s where Discover America comes into play. Discover America is a new advertising campaign created by the travel and tourism industry to help promote travel to the United States. The new promotions will include television commercials in nine countries, and photo advertisements and banners in Tokyo, London, and parts of Canada. Facebook pages will be used to converse in other languages and tweets will be sent out to compliment the many charms the U.S. has to offer. While Discover America is garnering interest from foreign travelers, the hotel industry needs to ensure they are offering the same amenities provided by international hotels.
As international guests flock to the U.S., they are looking for a minimum of what they receive at home and likely, a unique experience to make their stay more enjoyable. For example, most high standard hotels in China offer large lobby areas, transportation to and from the airport, executive floors with concierge, and free breakfast buffets. Hotel rooms should be spacious and include in-room safes to lock up valuables. Because many international hotels offer facilities such as gyms, swimming pools, saunas, and laundry services, tourists expect to receive these same services while on American turf.
Be sure to contact Safemark if your property is missing in-room safes, as this expected amenity is sure to be needed by foreign guests to store passports, electronics, jewelry and other valuables.