U.S. travel edges up
The U.S. travel industry finally broke a nine‑month losing streak in February, although the rebound is modest and the sector still faces volatility as it chases 2026 targets. (skift.com) Analysts point to uneven international air growth and continuing hotel market instability. (hotelnewsresource.com)
U.S.-international air passenger enplanements totaled about 18.3 million in February 2026, a 0.2% year‑over‑year increase that put volumes at roughly 106.1% of February 2019 levels. (hotelnewsresource.com) Non‑U.S. citizen arrivals declined about 3% to roughly 4.0 million passengers in February 2026, equal to about 85.6% of pre‑pandemic levels, while U.S. residents took roughly 5.0 million international air trips, up 1.5% and about 27% above February 2019. (hotelnewsresource.com) STR and Tourism Economics forecast full‑year U.S. hotel RevPAR growth of just 0.6% for 2026 after RevPAR fell about 0.3% in 2025 — the first non‑recessionary RevPAR decline on record. (hotel-online.com) CoStar and Tourism Economics project 2026 ADR to rise roughly 1.0% while occupancy is expected to sit near 62.1–62.3%, producing only modest RevPAR gains and prompting several firms to trim earlier forecasts. (hoteldive.com) STR notes the recovery is bifurcated by segment: upper‑end hotels show ADR‑driven improvement, but select‑service and economy properties face downward ADR pressure and flat to negative RevPAR. (hotel-online.com) Analysts expect more visible upside in the second half of 2026 due to a favorable calendar composition and the FIFA World Cup lift for host markets, but caution that calendar effects and event concentration will drive uneven local performance. (hotel-online.com)
