The U.S. Travel Insights Dashboard

Travel spending rose 6.2% year over year to $122.1 billion, the strongest month in a year, attributed to peak summer demand and elevated room rates in World Cup host cities. Travel prices rose 8.1% over the same period, indicating that a substantial share of the increase reflects higher prices rather than increased travel volume. Air passenger volumes fell 1.3% to 80.7 million, a second consecutive month of year over year decline, while airline fares jumped 26.5%. The same divergence appears in credit card data, with airline spending increasing 6.1% in May.
Hotel revenue per available room (RevPAR) grew 8.4% nationally, but leadership inverted: urban properties led at 13.7% while resort properties (which led in January and February) fell to 4.6%, consistent with demand concentrating in World Cup host markets.
Leisure and hospitality employment declined by 61,000 jobs over the month, following a 40,000-job gain in May, though the swing reflects normal seasonal variation. Employment remains 0.7% above year-ago levels at 17.0 million jobs. The hotel outlook was upgraded in June, with the forecast projecting 2026 RevPAR growth of 2.8%, up from the 0.6% forecast issued in February.

International

• Overseas arrivals fell 1.8% in June, an improvement from the 6.5% decline in May. Even so, international visitation remains down 4.3% year to date and continues to trail pre-pandemic levels. Recovery remains uneven across key source markets. The United Kingdom has rebounded to 87% of 2019 levels and Colombia now exceeds pre-pandemic visitation at 140%, while France (65%) and Germany (62%) continue to lag.

Domestic

• Group travel remained the strongest-performing segment in June. Top 25 group hotel demand increased 3.1%—its strongest reading in a year—while DMO group demand ran 8.3% above the 2023-2025 average. Meeting planner optimism also improved, rising to 35% from 24% in February.
• Corporate hotel booking pace held up, running 7.3% ahead for August, 8.6% for September and 5.6% for October.
• National park visits fell 7.8% year over year, marking their weakest performance in the past year.
• Leisure sentiment improved, with the share of consumers saying it is a good time to spend money on leisure travel rising to 37.7% from 31.6% in May.