Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32JUNE 2016 • FOGHORN 5 LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR John Groundwater whale watch boats, to name just a few. According to the U.S. Travel Association (USTA), the U.S. leisure travel market has been the primary reason for travel growth over the last several years. While a strong U.S. dollar has been responsible for slowing international travel to the U.S. some, USTA expects international travel to pick up in the coming months. Citing that travel is ranked in the top 10 industries in the United States, the “U.S. Travel Answer Sheet,” is a compilation of current travel statistics and prepared by USTA. Within the document, USTA values the economic output of the travel industry at $2.1 trillion. This includes approximately $947 billion in direct travel expenditures, which created $1.2 trillion in expenditures in other associat- ed industries. It emphasized the 15.1 million jobs that were impacted by travel expendi- tures in 2015, along with the corresponding $231.6 billion in corresponding wages. The report further indicates that nearly $651 billion was spent directly on leisure travel—by both domestic and international travelers—in 2015, and nearly four out of five domestic trips taken in this country are for leisure. In addition, a reported 1.7 billion individual trips were taken by U.S. travelers in 2015. In separate research, USTA predicts that the top five countries to watch for travel growth to the U.S. through 2020 will be China, India, Taiwan, South Korea and Australia. Clearly the travel and tourism industry is a major player in the U.S. economy, and the passenger vessel industry is a key player in this important industry segment. As you know, PVA continues to work with federal agencies and aligned industry groups to help promote the continued health of the U.S. travel and tourism markets and the passenger vessel industry at-large. We hope that you will join with us in this work. I encourage you to join us at an upcoming PVA event, region meeting or at the PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2017, January 29- February 1 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, WA. In the meantime, please let me know whenever we can be of assistance to you. Sincerely, John R. Groundwater Executive Director n Travel and Tourism: A Strong Performer In recent months we have followed numerous reports in the media about volatility in the U.S. stock markets, concerns about falling oil prices and uncertainty about some European and Asian economies. It seems as if the U.S. stock markets respond each day to different domestic and international circumstances, all pushing the market in a variety of directions. While such erratic market behavior does create anxiety, some economists point to the U.S. economy as being a stable performer even when compared with other countries around the world. Along these lines, experts are even predicting that manufacturing output will continue to grow through 2016 and the unemployment rate will continue to fall. The Federal Reserve Board recently reported that the U.S. economy has increased steadily since the domestic recovery started approximately nine years ago. The Fed estimates that the U.S. economy is now 10 percent larger than it was then. In addition, corresponding em- ployment has surpassed 2008 levels by approximately five million workers and unemployment has fallen from10 percent then to approxi- mately five percent today. The Fed further reports that approximately 200,000 U.S. jobs have been added so far this year. In an annual survey report issued last month, entitled “Survey of Household Economics and Decision-making,” the Fed presented data signaling signs of improvement in the perceived financial wellbeing of U.S. families. According to the report, 69 percent of survey respondents said they are either “living comfortably” or “doing okay,” which is up four percentage points from 2014 and up six percentage points from 2013. In addition, seventy-seven percent of non-retired adults are confident that they have the skills necessary to get the kind of job that they want now, which is an increase of 10 percentage points from 2013 survey results. While there are certainly sporadic economic bright spots in the U.S. economy, the U.S. travel and tourism industry has demonstrated an impressive track record in terms of the contribution that it makes to the economic health of the United States over several years. Without a doubt, the passenger vessel industry is a significant player in this industry and a contributor to this consistent perfor- mance. With PVA member vessels in virtually every port in the nation, our industry safely carries more than 200 million passengers each year aboard ferries, water taxies, dinner cruise boats, excursion and sightseeing vessels and Clearly the travel and tourism industry is a major player in the U.S. economy, and the passenger vessel industry is a key player in this important industry segment.