TABLE OF CONTENTS The term "destinations" in the context of this chapter refers to popular U.S. visitor sites such as the Hawaiian Islands, Florida's beaches, New York's Catskill Mountains, Arizona's Grand Canyon, California's Napa Valley, Nevada's casinos, Colorado's Rocky Mountains, the Washington, D.C. area's landmarks, and the National Park System. Tourist attractions including museums, historical monuments and sites, cultural centers and theme or amusement parks, and mega-shopping malls are all "travel destinations within travel destinations." These tourist attractions share many key audiences with destinations. Also, attractions and destinations often cooperatively promote their respective locales and attractions. This is why they are treated jointly in this chapter.
The primary market for destinations and tourist attractions is leisure travel. This market is composed of both domestic and international travelers. In 2003, the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) reported a total of 1.14 billion domestic U.S. person-trips. The top five state destinations that year were California, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, and New York. In 2000, total domestic and international traveler spending (in billions) in those states, respectively, was $78, $60, $36, $16, and $40.
Once U.S. travelers reach their destination, what activities are they most interested in? According to a 2003 TIA survey, shopping tops the list, followed by: attending a social or family event; outdoor activity; city/urban sightseeing; rural sightseeing; beaches; historic places/museums; gambling; theme/amusement parks; and visits to national or state parks. The top modes of transportation were automobile/truck/RV (78%) and airplane (16%).
In terms of international visitors, the...
