Domestic group travel contributes more than $90 billion dollars to America’s economy each year.

That’s according to a new report from the American Bus Association and Tourism Economics. On this episode of the podcast, research collaborators Lew Myers and Omneya Fahmy explain the massive scope of the group travel industry and share reflections on what it means in 2025 and beyond.

Lew and Omneya break down the statistics and reveal the jaw-dropping ways that group travel stacks up against other tourism segments. They reveal which states are punching above their weight in group travel and how tourism professionals can leverage this data to advocate for policy change. Plus, we have news about tour operators’ business prospects; a Road Tip about avoiding awkward conversation pauses; and a Hot Minute about the main thing missing from international travel today.

Podcast: Embed

Insights from Lew Myers and Omneya Fahmy

Lew and Omneya had lots of eye-catching stats to share about the size of the group travel market and the way it impacts America. Here’s what Lew said about the study’s key takeaways:

“This report confirms that busses bring business. The motorcoach industry has a $90 billion economic impact. We support over 540,000 jobs. We contribute $16 billion to the federal government in the form of taxes. And we have created over $30 billion in wages and salaries.

“This really goes to show that unlike airlines and trains, the motorcoach industry touches every state, every county, every city, every urban and rural community, and we move over 400 million passengers a year.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Access “The Economic Impact of Motorcoach Travel in the United States” at buses.org.

Email Lew Myers at lmyers@buses.org.

Follow Lew on LinkedIn.

Learn more about Tourism Economics at tourismeconomics.com.

Email Omneya Fahmy at ofahmy@oxfordeconomics.com.

Follow Omneya on LinkedIn.

See the full NTA member survey at https://ntaonline.com/nta-news/collaboration-in-packaged-travel/.

Key Moments From This Episode

1:28 — Travel News: NTA tour operators are optimistic about 2026

2:55 — Road Tip: No more awkward silences

12:15 — A comprehensive guide to group travel’s economic impact

15:38 — The $90 billion question

17:40 — Surprises hiding in the group travel data

19:35 — How do you measure the size of the tour industry?

22:34 — Which U.S. states are the most popular for groups?

24:29 — How group travel stacks up against other travel segments

25:50 — How tourism marketers can leverage data to benefit their destinations

29:02 — Using data to impact policy

31:07 — The impact of adverse policies on the group travel business

46:20 — Hot Minute: Has technology made international travel better — or worse?

Watch the Full Interview

See the full interview with Lew and Omneya on our YouTube channel.

About the Podcast

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.

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