International inbound travel to the U.S. was flat in August, an improvement compared with the previous month, when the figure declined 1.2 percent, according to the U.S. Travel Association's Travel Trends Index. Due to trade tensions and a strong dollar, USTA expects the figure to decline 0.6 percent year over year for the period from September through February. Travel to and within the U.S. grew 3 percent year over year in August. Domestic travel grew 3.4 percent, supported primarily by leisure travel, which grew 4 percent while domestic business travel grew a modest 1.2 percent. For the period from September through February, USTA expects leisure travel to grow 1.8 percent year over year and business travel to grow 1.6 percent. "Solid growth in both domestic leisure and business segments has kept the travel expansion on track so far this year, despite a stall in international inbound travel," said USTA SVP of research David Huether.
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