With 5 700 attendees from 70 countries, and 100 000 scheduled business appointments, the US Travel Association’s (USTA) 2024 IPW (previously known as the International Pow-Wow) has scaled up significantly. It’s a 20% increase in attendance over the 2023 show.
Now in its 55th year, IPW ran from May 3 to 7 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The event is estimated to create more than US$5,5 billion (R101,5 billion) in future travel spend each year that it takes place.
Like the South African inbound industry, American tour operators and tourism players have a burning desire for more tourists to visit the US. And the key takeaway from IPW 2024 was the need to overcome barriers to visitors.
“It should be our national goal to be nothing short of number-one in terms of visitor arrivals, visitor spend and visitor experience,” said Geoff Freeman, President and CEO of USTA.
“But our ambitions are constrained by excessively long wait times for visitor visas, often lengthy waits at customs, and an air traffic control system that is challenged to meet demand. Achieving travel growth will require a sustained focus by government and industry to address frictions and improve the process for travellers,” he added.
The US will welcome an influx of visitors to its shores over the next five years as it gears up for several behemoth events, including:
- Copa America (soccer) (June 20-July 14, 2024),
- ICC Men's T20 World Cup (June 1-29, 2024)
- FIFA World Cup (June 11-July 19, 2026)
- America250 (250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. July 4 weekend, 2026)
- Summer Olympics (July 14-30, 2028)
During the USTA’s press briefing on Monday, May 6, Freeman led a panel discussion about the Commission on Seamless and Secure Travel. The commission is a project of USTA which aims to build a vision and recommend policies to increase US competitiveness, improve government focus and co-ordination on travel issues and facilitate growth.
Among other issues, the panel explored how technologies such as facial recognition and AI were promoting more efficient travel in the US, and the FAA’s recent announcement of the Reauthorization Bill that seeks to pause the TSA's use of biometrics across 84 US airports. The Bill has been met with a storm of criticism, and many say it is counterproductive to ensuring safe, seamless travel within the country.
The next IPW will take place in Chicago from June 14-18, 2025.
