To say that 2011 was a good year for tourism to the U.S. would be a pretty hefty understatement. Having generated US$152.4 billion, travel exports for the year not only broke the 2008 all-time high (by $11 billion), but also helped the industry post a record trade surplus of $41.9 billion.

Additionally, following an 11.7 per cent gain in 2010, travel exports for the year grew at an accelerated rate of 13.4 per cent - the fastest pace in three years.

Augmenting growth were tourism exports for December 2011, which rose by $121 million from November to $12.9 billion.

Commenting on the U.S. Commerce Department¡¯s figures on international trade, U.S. Travel Association senior vice president of economics and research, David Huether said the year had been ¡°one for the record books for travel exports¡±.? ?????????

¡°With travel exports eclipsing the exports of both machinery and computer products, as well as agriculture sales abroad, the positive impact of international travelers visiting the United States has been one of the key reasons why the travel industry has reclaimed nearly 50 per cent of the jobs lost during the great recession ¨C much better than the rest of the economy,¡± he remarked.

¡°Facilitating even more travel to the U.S. from the rest of the world is one of the most efficient and least-costly job programs in existence.¡±