These are the 10 most expensive U.S. tourist destinations

If you’re planning a trip on a budget, be warned: Visiting these U.S. destinations will likely cost you more.

Personal finance website GOBankingRates recently evaluated top vacation spots by the costs associated with visiting them, including airfare and hotel, as well as other expenses, such as food and beverages. Airfares are based on average flight prices from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The following cities and destinations came up as the most expensive, based on two adults staying for three nights in October 2018.

10. Charleston, South CarolinaTotal cost: $1,680.82
Hotel (3 nights): $534
Airfare (for two): $757

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Charleston, South Carolina

Stephen Saks | Lonely Planet Images | Getty Images

9. Philadelphia Total cost: $1,697.56
Hotel (3 nights): $528
Airfare (for two): $757.24

Philadelphia

Sean Pavone | iStock | Getty Images

8. San Francisco Total cost: $1,705.52 Hotel (3 nights): $463 Airfare (for two): $730

San Francisco’s Painted Ladies Victorian homes. 

Education Images | Universal Images Group | Getty Images

7. Nashville Total cost: $1,728.22 Hotel (3 nights): $628 Airfare (for two): $703.62

Nashville, Tennessee

Davel5957 | Getty Images

6. Boston Total cost: $1,730.02 Hotel (3 nights): $634
Airfare (for two): $646.62

Boston

David Joyner | Vetta | Getty Images

5. Austin Total cost: $1,735.94
Hotel (3 nights): $626
Airfare (for two): $697.44

Austin, Texas

Peter Tsai Photography | Flickr | Getty Images

4. Washington, D.C.Total cost: $1,881.48
Hotel (3 nights): $558
Airfare (for two): $855.60

Fireworks explode over Washington, DC. 

Paul J. Richards | AFP | Getty Images

3. Asheville, North CarolinaTotal cost: $1,921.82 Hotel (3 nights): $689
Airfare (for two): $858.06

Asheville skyline

Lonely Planet

2. Maui Total cost: $1,924.04 Hotel (3 nights): $751 Airfare (for two): $705.04

Maui, Hawaii

Jay Spooner | Getty Images

1. New York Total cost: $2,070.36 Hotel (3 nights): $773 Airfare (for two): $749.92

New York City skyline

USA is Among World's Top Three Tourism Powerhouses

China, the United States and India are the world’s top three tourism powerhouses, generating more tourism industry growth over the past seven years than nearly 200 other countries.

The achievement of the three countries was identified in a new Travel & Tourism Power Performance Report report issued by the World Travel & Tourism Counciljust ahead of the annual World Tourism Day celebrations.

The report's ranking is based on growth over the past seven years in four areas: tourism’s contribution to a country's GDP, international visitor spend in that country, domestic tourism spend and capital investment.

“World Tourism Day is the global celebration of a sector that contributes 10.4 percent of the world’s GDP and generates 313 million jobs,” WTTC President and CEO Gloria Guevara said in a statement. “WTTC’s new report outlines power and performance rankings, which showcase countries that have been most successful in growing their tourism sectors across the board.”

The new report ranks the performance of a total of 185 countries over the last seven-year period.

The inclusion of domestic spend and investment in the report’s metrics this year allows for a more rounded measure of performance and prioritization than the usual measures of GDP contribution and international spend, the WTTC said.

The new report includes two distinct rankings. The "Power" ranking focuses on countries whose travel and tourism has grown most in absolute terms over the past seven years. The top ten countries on this list are: China; USA; India; Mexico; United Kingdom; Spain; Turkey; Canada; and Indonesia. Australia and the United Arab Emirates tied for the tenth slot.

Meanwhile, the new report’s "Performance" ranking looks at those countries whose travel and tourism has grown most quickly in percentage terms over the past seven years. The countries on this particular list are maximizing the opportunity of tourism to drive economic development, according to WTTC. The top ten countries on the Performance ranking are: Myanmar; Iraq; Georgia; Rwanda; Iceland; Nicaragua; Qatar; Congo; Armenia and Ivory Coast.

“Notably, G20 countries dominate the league, representing 12 of the top 20 countries, displaying once again the importance of travel and tourism both to mature markets and the global economy,” added Guevara. “Then, the emergence of up-and-coming countries highlights the central role that tourism can play within developing economies.”

For its part, the WTTC advocates that such growth be driven by strong travel facilitation policies, sustainable and proactive planning, and robust infrastructures that can withstand crises, said Guevara.

The organization believes that under such management, travel and tourism can thrive, as it is in Indonesia where radical visa reform has been matched by a rapid growth in international tourist arrivals in the last seven years.

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Kerala Tourism holds trade meets in USA to woo tourists

In an effort to woo more travellers from America,Kerala Tourism showcased its signature assets before leading stakeholders of the travel and tourism industry and held trade meets in major cities of the USA.

New Jersey, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles were the four American cities where Kerala Tourism held trade meets during February, a Kerala Tourism press release said.

"USA is the second largest market for Kerala Tourismafter Europe. The four trade meets conducted there were part of a concerted campaign to tap the full potential of the American travel market.

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USA retains top position as global tourism continues to grow

The global tourism sector grew at 3.9 per cent last year, to contribute a record $8.8 trillion and 319 million jobs to the world economy, according to figures from the World Travel & Tourism Organisation.

For the eighth consecutive year, this was above the growth rate of world GDP.

The research conducted over the last 25 years by WTTC, which represents the global private sector of tourism, shows that tourism generated 10.4 per cent of all global economic activity last year.

At the same time, the sector is responsible for one in five of all new jobs created in the world over the last five years.

Gloria Guevara, WTTC president, said: “Last year was another year of strong growth for the global tourism sector reinforcing its role as a driver of economic growth and job creation.

“For the eighth consecutive year, our sector outpaced growth in the wider global economy and we recorded the second-highest growth of any major sector in the world.”

She added: “Yet again, this proves the power of tourism as a tool for governments to generate prosperity while creating jobs which particularly support women, youth and other, often marginalised groups of society.

“In fact, tourism now accounts for one in five of all new jobs created worldwide and is forecast to contribute 100 million new jobs globally over the next ten years, accounting for 421 million jobs by 2029.”

United States

The United States retained its status as the world’s largest tourism economy last year, despite a standstill in international visitors from China, according the research.

Figures show that the United States remained the biggest tourism market in the world in 2018, with the sector contributing almost $1.6tn to GDP.

This translates to 7.8 per cent of US GDP with the sector growing by 2.2 per cent (accounting for inflation) last year.

After registering average annual growth of 23 per cent over the previous decade, Chinese travel to the US was flat last year partly due to trade tensions between the two countries.

International visitors from China account for four per cent of total US visitors but 11 per cent of all spending, demonstrating their economic importance to the country.

Guevara added: “ After recording ten years of stellar growth, international visitor numbers from China were flat year on year, caused in part by the deteriorating trade relations between the two countries.

“Given the economic importance of Chinese visitors, any thawing in the trade relations between the two countries would have a positive effect for the wider US economy.”

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