The worldwide tourism sector accounts for more than $7 trillion in economic output and supports more than 284 million jobs, according to a report by CNBC that cited data from the World Travel & Tourism Council. Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email feedback@benzinga.com with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!
The number of Americans who traveled outside of the country in 2015 rose 8 percent from the prior year to 73.4 million. However, now more than ever, tourists with vacation time and cash to spend are being more mindful of the rise in terrorist activities in their vacation plans.
In fact, the report noted that nearly one in four Americans are considering either cancelling, delaying, relocating or changing travel plans. Since late 2015, France's tourist sector missed out on an estimated 270 million euros ($300 million) following a deadly string of terrorist attacks, which carried over into 2016.
Daniel Durazo, a spokesman for Allianz Global Assistance USA told CNBC that "American summer travel to Brussels and Istanbul has fallen off a cliff."
Patrick Surrey, a data scientist at Hopper, told CNBC airlines and other tourist related sectors continue to present "flash sale" activities to consumers to "shore up demand in the face of ongoing uncertainty and apprehension about travel to Europe."
That isn't to say Americans aren't travelling, as locations that are deemed safer, like Ireland, have seen "tremendous increases in American visitors."
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