Hilton
CEO Christopher Nassetta is intent on the U.S. recovering some of the global
market share it has lost in the past 10 years.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta sounded
the alarm on America’s declining appeal as a global tourism destination.
During a conversation at the Punchbowl News Conference in
Washington, D.C., on March 10, Nassetta told the audience that the U.S. has
lost half its share of the inbound international market over the last 30 years.
“We were 10% of inbound global travel 30 years ago,” he
said. “Now we’re 5%. I don’t think we should accept that.”
Nassetta pointed to reduced travel from Canada, which has
fallen sharply amid ongoing political tensions.
We were 10% of inbound global travel 30 years ago. Now we’re 5%. I don’t think we should accept that.
Chris Nassetta
Recovering even half of the lost global market share would
mean “massive amounts of incremental economic activity and millions of
incremental jobs,” he said.
Nassetta also noted that Brand USA, the public-private
organization that promotes the U.S. as a travel destination, has been largely
defunded.
“We need to make sure we fund it,” he said. “A lot of people
want to come to America. But there are a lot of other options.”
He pushed for making it easier for travelers to enter the
U.S.
“We have to make it more frictionless, more welcoming — not
add friction by charging incremental fees or asking for incremental information
we may not need,” said Nassetta, adding that modern biometric technology makes
it possible to be “safer than we’ve ever been” while removing most friction
from the system.
Despite the headwinds, Nassetta said he is optimistic,
pointing to early signs of improvement in mid-market hotel performance and
various macroeconomic tailwinds, such as easing inflation, lower interest rates
and a favorable tax environment.
“All the mid-market stuff, every little Hampton Inn and
Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites and all these products that serve that
middle class, you’re starting to see them move in a very different direction
than we had been seeing them move,” said Nassetta.
NOTE: This story first appeared in Travel Weekly.