Travel Business Index Rises Again For May

<B> Travel Business Index Rises Again For May</B>

The Travel Business Roundtable Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose by 0.7 percent in May, the fifth month in a row that index grew by 0.5 percent or more.

The performance so far this year has outpaced growth rates during the same period in the previous few years.

Last month also showed a bit of a turnaround for The Conference Board's U.S. Index of Leading Economic Indicators, which rose 0.3 percent in May, with growth coming in all 10 indicators that make up the U.S. Index.

Increases in May's Travel Business Roundtable Index came from eight of its nine components: total Airlines Reporting Corp. sales, Air Transport Association revenue passenger miles, the Smith Travel Research-provided hotel/motel occupancy and hotel/motel revenue indices, the Bureau of Economic Analysis' personal consumption expenditures for travel and other discretionary products, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' measure of travel industry employment, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index, and Department of Commerce and Bureau of Census data on retail sales at eating and drinking establishments.

There was a slight decline in the daily rental car price index that is supplied by a top industry provider.

"Increases of this magnitude bode well for future growth, but the more significant advances in the travel and tourism industry once again demonstrate the significant positive contribution the industry is making to the U.S. economy," said Dr. James Howell, president of the Howell Group.

Last year, the industry contributed a trade surplus of nearly $19 billion and injected $91 billion in revenue into the U.S. economy.