Tourists spent less on recreation and entertainment in the United States in the fourth quarter and barely increased their spending on shopping even as their spending on lodging and restaurants surged, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Real spending on recreation declined 0.7 percent to $75.8 billion, marking the first such decline since the fourth quarter of 2011, when such spending dipped by 0.3 percent. Spending on tourism related shopping, meanwhile, rose 1.0 percent to $90.4 billion, compared to 1.9 percent in the third quarter of 2012.
By comparison, overall real spending on travel and tourism increased at an annual rate of 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter after decreasing 0.7 percent (revised) in the third quarter. That compares to 0.1 percent growth in real gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2012 on top of 3.1 percent GDP growth in the third quarter.
The leading contributors to the increase in fourth quarter tourism spending were traveler accommodations and food services and drinking places, which increased 9.4 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively. Partially offsetting these increases was a 3.7 percent decline in all other transportation-related commodities, and a 3.2 percent decline in passenger air transportation. The leading contributors to the decline within all other transportation-related commodities were gasoline and automotive rental and leasing.
