www.bls.gov

Measuring Price Change for Export Travel and 

Tourism in the U.S. Import/Export Price Indexes

Import/Export Price Indexes • mxpinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/mxp • (202) 691-7101

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Export Travel and 

Tourism Index measures changes in prices for travelrelated goods and services paid by foreign visitors when 

traveling in the United States. BLS first began to publish 

the Export Travel and Tourism Index in 2007 and 

discontinued publication in 2008. The index was 

published with a one-month lag due to the availability 

of pricing data. BLS publishes international services 

price indexes for air freight and air passenger fares. 

Historical data are available for crude oil tanker freight 

and ocean liner freight 

(http://www.bls.gov/web/discsrv.htm), education 

(http://www.bls.gov/web/srv3.htm) and travel and 

tourism services (http://www.bls.gov/web/srv2.htm). 

The Export Travel and Tourism Index measures price 

changes for lodging, food and beverage, entertainment, 

local transportation, gifts and souvenirs, and other 

goods and services purchased in the United States by 

foreign visitors. For example, the price paid by a 

resident of France for a hotel stay in New York City 

would be included in the Export Travel and Tourism 

Index. Expenditures by foreign visitors traveling to the 

United States for business, education, or medical 

treatment are excluded from this index. The indexes for 

export travel and tourism are published according to 

the visitor’s country of residence. Regional groupings 

follow the definitions set by the U.S. Department of 

Commerce’s Survey of International Air Travelers. The 

U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic 

Analysis (BEA) is a primary user of the Export Travel and 

Tourism Index. BEA uses these indexes to adjust the 

Balance of Payments Accounts and to deflate the Gross 

Domestic Product. 

Sample Design and Selection 

The Export Travel and Tourism Index comprises a subset 

of data from the BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI) since 

foreign visitors generally pay the same price for travelrelated goods and services in the United States as U.S. 

residents pay. 

The subset of CPI data supporting the index is selected 

based on expenditures by foreign visitors in selected 

U.S. metropolitan travel destinations across the broad 

categories of lodging, food and beverage, 

entertainment, local transportation, gifts and souvenirs, 

and other expenditures. The specific transactions 

selected adhere to CPI’s sampling methodology. 

Pricing 

Pricing data for the Export Travel and Tourism Index are 

obtained monthly from the BLS CPI. The pricing data 

are a combination of CPI basic indexes and item prices. 

The CPI basic indexes are not seasonally adjusted and 

include taxes. The item prices also include taxes. Prices 

for tour packages are excluded from this index. Prices 

for international airfare also are excluded from this 

index since these price changes are measured by other 

U.S. Import/Export Price Indexes. 

Trade Value Weights 

The revenue weights used for index calculation are 

derived from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s 

Survey of International Air Travelers, as well as 

expenditure figures from Statistics Canada and the 

Mexican Ministry of Tourism. The trade dollar value 

weights are updated annually with a two year lag.
Import/Export Price Indexes • mxpinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/mxp • (202) 691-7101

www.bls.gov

Measuring Price Change for Export Travel and 

Tourism in the U.S. Import/Export Price Indexes

Additional Information 

Additional information on the U.S. Import/Export Price 

Indexes can be found in “International Price Indexes,” 

BLS Handbook of Methods, Bulletin 2490 (Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, 1997), Chapter 15. This chapter also is 

available on the BLS Internet site 

(http://www.bls.gov/mxp) under the topic 

"Publications." You may contact the International Price 

Program of BLS by telephone at (202) 691-7101 or by email at mxpinfo@bls.gov. 

Information in this report is in the public domain and 

may be reproduced without permission. This 

information is available to sensory impaired individuals 

upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD 

Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339. 

Last Modified Date: December 12, 2011