The United States is the biggest tourist earner in the world. We also saw a record tourism trade surplus. That was an 18 percent increase in the surplus from the year before. Most of those visitors come from Canada and Mexico, with Europe and the Far East also providing big numbers. But the rest of Latin America is becoming more affluent as open markets build wealth.
Travel is one of the first luxury goods people buy.
As Houston grows as a Latin American airline gateway, we can expect more bucks in our pockets as a result of increased tourism from the south.