Brian Jewell (00:02.427)
So I'm excited to dig into the details of this economic impact report. This is maybe the most comprehensive study I've seen on the economic impact of our industry in more than 20 years. So I'm very excited about it. I'm excited to hear from you, Lou, kind of what the impetus was for doing the study. What were the key questions you were hoping to answer?

Lew Myers (00:24.696)
Thank you again, Brian, for having us. The Economic Impact Report was really part of a three study initiative that we mapped out last year. Just to go back a little bit, earlier on February 1st, we decided to get ahead of the curve, understanding that the administration might roll out some tariffs. And so we created a game plan and our first report that addressed what a 25 % tariff would have on our Canadian manufacturers.

which are Prevo and MCI, were able to get ahead of the curve on that and actually take that data to Capitol Hill. And we're able to create an exclusion for our members, which ended up saving them millions of dollars on tariffs and subsequently was able to avoid any hiccups in the supply chain. Our second study was the Sustainability and Innovation Report, which really showed how much more efficient motor coach are compared to other modes of transportation.

In many ways, 10 times cleaner than transit. We have the lowest per passenger mile of CO2 emissions. And really on average, what's really exciting is that each motor coach removes up to 30 cars from the road. So not only do we have a positive environmental impact, but we're also helping reduce congestion mitigation. And then that led up into our third project, which was the economic impact report.

And the whole goal behind all of these research initiatives is to really add value to our members. And so this analysis really showed the positive downstream effects of the motor coach industry on the broader economy. And one note that you mentioned earlier is that we do capture group travel, but we're excited to add a supplemental report that's actually going to be released next month. So I guess breaking news.

where we have scheduled service that we're going to incorporate into that data set. So in terms of adding more value to our members and the industry, moving forward, we will have both group travel and scheduled service in this economic impact report. And then one of the most exciting things is the new interactive map that we were able to create this year, which allows any individual to go to our website, buses.org, buses.

Lew Myers (02:44.046)
You can click on your state all the way down to your congressional district and you can really mine and see how valuable the motor coach industry is to your particular area. So really excited about the work that I'm day and I've been able to do and looking forward to more projects in 2026.

Brian Jewell (03:01.497)
Yeah, that map especially is just phenomenal. I've spent some time playing around with that and the granularity that you can get, as you mentioned, breaking it down by congressional district is, is really fantastic. You can see all kinds of data in terms of, you know, number of passengers and economic impact for your city in some cases, if you're in a big city. so that is really, really helpful. I am curious to hear your thoughts on.

what you think some of the big headlines are. I certainly know what numbers stood out to me, but I'd love to hear you say, you know, what, the key takeaways were that really jumped out to you when you got the data.

Lew Myers (03:32.867)
Yep.

Lew Myers (03:38.287)
Well, I think simply put, Brian, this report really confirms that buses bring business. Through the analysis, we see that the motor coach industry has a $90 billion economic impact. We support over 540,000 jobs. We've contributed $16 billion to the federal government in forms of taxes. And also we've created over $30 billion in wages and salaries.

This really goes to show that unlike airlines and trains, the motor coach industry touches every state, every county, every city, every district, every urban and rural community, and we move over 400 million passengers a year. So we are a critical component to the movement of America. We also understand that we play a critical role with moving our service men and women.

We have a vital role when it comes to working with the military and the Department of Defense. And when we have natural disasters in this country, the federal governments, both state and federal, partner and contract with our operators to move our citizens and vital resources. So we are a critical component to the chain of transportation in this country and really just excited to amplify all the work that's being done in the motor coach space.

Brian Jewell (05:03.557)
Yeah, that $90 billion number is really attention grabbing. You know, I've known for a long time that group travel and motor coach travel is important, but actually seeing a number of that big attached to it, just really reinforced something that a lot of us have known kind of intuitively is that, this is a big industry and, it is in fact very big. And I'm super happy that we have that data to share now. now what, what did you find in the data that was surprising or

Lew Myers (05:04.073)
We can leave the rest of it.

Thank

Brian Jewell (05:32.431)
Was it pretty much just confirming of conventional wisdom?

Omneya Fahmy (05:35.872)
I would say it was a confirmation to what we've known about the motor coach sector, but the sheer magnitude of the multiplier effect was certainly very powerful. We've always known that motor coaches deliver high yield visitors and the numbers back this up. Each dollar in direct spending by motor coach groups generated more than double in business sales when you factor in the ripple effects.

Another sort of compelling confirmation is where that money goes, the breakdown of that money between the different sectors. So the data showed us that the food and beverage industry and retail are major beneficiaries. And so this is just this is a good confirmation to know that motor coach travelers are hitting local restaurants and shops and injecting cash directly into main street economies.

Some areas might not be serviced by other forms of transportation. And so it's very helpful to know that Motor Coach, that the sector supports their local businesses to thrive.

Brian Jewell (06:49.073)
Yeah, can you give us a little more insight into what it might be about these group travelers that makes them such high contributors to the communities they're visiting as opposed to people traveling individually or by other modes of transportation?

Omneya Fahmy (07:03.381)
So.

Group travelers, tend to book in advance. I really don't have the details of how the differences in their spending in motor coach group travelers versus independent travelers, but group travel in general tends to have a large spending impact.

It's the nature of the trip. It's the nature of the kind of the trip and the spending that it ignites basically. Yeah, sorry that I don't have more about that.

Brian Jewell (07:51.173)
Yeah, yeah, no, no worries at all. Tell us a little bit about your methodology. How did the research team collect the data? How do you compile it? What makes you feel confident that it is accurate?

Omneya Fahmy (08:03.829)
So our data collection process was multifaceted and coming from several sources.

Lew Myers (08:09.006)
and I'll see you in a minute.

Omneya Fahmy (08:14.259)
So first of all, the data is grounded in the Motor Coach Census Survey. This was critical for capturing the supply side of the equation. So our team collected detailed operational and travel data from motor coach operators across the country as part of our annual census. This survey provided us with the necessary inputs for operational expenditures like vehicle mileage, fleet size, the type of the trip, et cetera.

Lew Myers (08:40.832)
Bye.

Omneya Fahmy (08:44.384)
And so these figures established the operational spending that initiates that economic chain reaction. That's one side of the equation.

Now let's talk about the demand side, the traveler spending. This data we were able to get from Longwoods International. And so it provides us with detailed, verified information about the traveler spending patterns broken down by key categories like lodging, retail and recreation, dining, et cetera. And so using this to estimate the spending of our motor coach group travelers, ensured that our direct spending figures are used.

Lew Myers (08:57.08)
Thank you.

Omneya Fahmy (09:21.115)
based on a widely accepted independent measure of tourism behavior and expenditure. going back to your earlier question about group spending, so this data was very particular to group travelers using a motor coach as their form of transportation. So it really captured the spending pattern of this specific group.

Lew Myers (09:21.294)
Thank

Thank

Omneya Fahmy (09:47.53)
Now we've taken all of this and we've added several layers of sort of verification to it. Our company does tourism economic impact studies for more than half the states in the US and we compile all available information for all states. And so we've been able to use this sort of economic baseline data to verify and check and integrate with the data that we've collected. we've also using that we've been able to accurately

Lew Myers (09:55.406)
Thank

Omneya Fahmy (10:17.513)
customize and calibrate the spending profiles and the multiplier calculations to reflect the unique economic structure, the wage rates and the commodity flows within each state.

Brian Jewell (10:29.999)
Yeah. And so that's how you're able to say, you know, here's the direct spend and then here's our projection for total economic impact and the ripple effects.

Omneya Fahmy (10:37.777)
Exactly, and that's how one state differs from another. That's how one district differs from another. Every region has its own unique economic structure, and so the money injected into the economy generates a different impact, basically.

Brian Jewell (10:55.151)
Yeah. Yeah. I love it. So Lou, this feature of, know, the statewide breakdown and even the district wide breakdown is so helpful. I'm wondering if, as you guys put this together, you found any States or districts that are maybe outperforming expectations that, maybe aren't on the tip of people's tongues when they talk about travel. But when you looked at it, you say, Holy cow, these people are doing awesome with groups.

Lew Myers (11:21.135)
Yeah, well we found the five leading states. No surprise California's up there, or Texas. Surprisingly, New Jersey is punching above its weight in addition to Massachusetts. And my home state of North Carolina kind of rounded out the top five. So excited to see those and you know while New York and California you know have some of the largest absolute impact states like North Carolina and Tennessee.

They might show a higher concentration of motor code supported jobs relative to its overall employment base. So that's, as you mentioned earlier, some of the granular data that we can take away, particularly when we talk to lawmakers and go to their particular states and districts and talk about ways to reinvest in these industries. So excited about what this powerful tool is able to do.

And it's also a benchmark for other states to say, okay, what are some of these larger states doing that's creating more impact than we are? And so they can use it as a opportunity to grow and develop with their budgetary.

Brian Jewell (12:26.949)
Yeah. I also frankly think it's an opportunity for some of these states that don't invest a lot of resources or, you know, time, staff effort, marketing dollars in the group market to say, Hey, wait a minute. People are actually interested in coming here. If we're doing this well without marketing, imagine what could happen if we really threw our weight behind this. So great, great data there. Omneya do you have any benchmarks or reference points that we can

compare this to in other tourism segments. You guys obviously don't only focus on groups. So how does this compare to other parts of the industry? Where do we stack up?

Omneya Fahmy (13:07.445)
So let's talk about the $90 billion economic output. This obviously is a big number. And it puts the motor coach group travel sector firmly among the essential segments of the US travel and tourism sector. According to newly released estimates by Airbnb, this is actually around the same figure of economic impact of Airbnb in the US in 2024. Yes.

Brian Jewell (13:15.824)
Yeah.

Omneya Fahmy (13:34.73)
That's a nice headline. So that's from one aspect. You could also take it from another angle. The 560,000 jobs that the Motor Coach Group travel sector supports. This is similar. This is comparable to the employment economic impact of the Port of New York and New Jersey, for example. So it shows you that

Brian Jewell (13:36.879)
Yeah.

Omneya Fahmy (14:00.286)
Motor Coach Group travel is a mass market economic engine for communities. It's not a niche player in the travel and tourism sector.

Brian Jewell (14:10.469)
Yeah, I love that. So Lou, you are intimately involved in our space. You know the players, you know the people who are thinking about tourism marketing every day. How do you think they can best use this data to advance the destinations that they are trying to market?

Lew Myers (14:32.825)
Yeah, I think one of the groups that this study really can influence are our DMOs and our CVBs, our destination marketing organizations and our convention and visitor bureaus. I think when you're having budgetary discussions and strategy about where to invest time, dollar and resources, I think our economic impact report is critical to be at the front line of those conversations. To your point earlier,

If you're a state who might not be in the top 10, how can you have the conversation and use this data to help grow your state overall? And, you know, it's also a way to determine where additional resources can be invested to grow locally. I think when we went to Capitol Hill and really talked to members of Congress, it really kind of took them aback to see, okay, well,

As a state, we might be pumping overall, but my congressional district isn't getting as much of attention as some of these larger districts. And so we want this to be a comprehensive tool. And one special thing about the foundation is that all of our research is public. There are no firewalls. There are no buy-ins. You go to buses.org and you can access all of our research projects. And we want our users, both members and non-members, to take advantage

Brian Jewell (15:45.521)
Mm.

Lew Myers (15:59.129)
of these resources that we're investing in from an industry standpoint. And so I think that's one of the special things that allows us to be world-class in working with tourism economics to produce these valuable and worthwhile studies that are really more evergreen than anything else and can be used in the perpetuity. And so as we continue to build on in the 2026, we'll always have updated and relevant data for our DMOs, CVBs, congressional offices.

And really just anybody who is in the travel and tourism space who wants to learn how to grow and develop their business.

Brian Jewell (16:32.432)
Yeah, I love that. And, one of the thoughts that I'm having as you say that is, uh, these travelers are going to travel, whether, uh, you market to them or not as a state or as a destination. The question is whether they come to you, you know, so you can say, Oh, well, we, you know, we think groups are dying, which clearly they're not dying. That's a song and dance I've been hearing for 20 years and it's never been true. Uh, we think group travels, dying group travels, not very, you know, fashionable. It's not the hot thing.

Lew Myers (16:43.024)
Correct.

Brian Jewell (17:00.677)
We don't want to invest our money in that. Well, the money is going to go somewhere. The customers are going to go somewhere. And if you ignore the market, they might go to the state next door. That is your heaviest competitor. They might go across the country. They may go out of the country. and in part, it's, it's your fault for not reaching out to them because these people are ultimately going to go where they know they are wanted. Right. Yeah. So, in terms of the foundation, Lou and, and, know, kind of your, your work in tandem with AVA.

How are you going to use this data to kind of approach your work in the coming year and the conversations you're having with policymakers and stakeholders and folks like that?

Lew Myers (17:40.497)
Great question, Brian. Data is critical to shaping the narrative for our industry. And one of the principal ways we'll be able to use this data is in our advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill. Having been a former staffer on Capitol Hill for over 10 years, I understand the value of quantifiable data and its ability to tell a story. These elected officials are the very lawmakers who create the laws that govern our industry.

So our ability to use this powerful tool to advance the ball is extremely critical. At the foundation, we invest money, time, resources into these reports because in order to continue to be a world-class credible hub for data, we have to lead and set the mark for our members and our industry partners and stakeholders. So for anyone who's listening to this podcast and wants to get involved,

Feel free to reach out and make a contribution. I like to tell folk investing in the ABA Foundation is not an act of kindness, but a strategy for change. so happy to leave my information behind for anyone who wants to follow up. If you have any questions regarding the data or research projects and or what we have coming down the pipe in 2026, happy to engage. And, you know, any operators, group travel.

Brian Jewell (18:48.145)
Hmm.

Lew Myers (19:06.946)
If you're not a member of ABA, we'd like to bring you under the tent because these are the type of resources that we provide, no cost, as a result of being a partner and being aligned with the American Bus Association and our foundation. So again, extremely grateful, Brian, to have this platform. So thank you again and happy to continue the conversation.

Brian Jewell (19:30.289)
Yeah, for sure. Now, 2024 was a great year to study something like this because there weren't major disruptions in tourism on the level of some of what we've seen, unfortunately, in 2025. I'm curious. I know it's hard to say, you know, what is going to end up happening this year, but I'm curious if you have a sense for whether these numbers that you found are going to fluctuate a lot, whether you think they're going to be pretty steady. And especially if you see

policy issues like the tariffs, like the visa issues that we've been seeing. Do you see those having an impact on what these numbers might look like for 2025 or beyond?

Omneya Fahmy (20:09.875)
Yeah, so the multiplier effect we've been discussing that magic 2.25 number, guess what? It works both ways. So any change in travel volume in group size, that's going to impact the economic output of the sector. So yes, policy changes will create sizable changes.

Brian Jewell (20:19.569)
Hmm.

Omneya Fahmy (20:35.089)
Lou referred earlier to a study that we did earlier in the year to evaluate the effect of them.

of the proposed tariffs. Now, what the tariffs do is that they increase the capital and operating costs for motor coach companies. They could result in a reduction in fleet renewal, higher ticket prices, and potentially a decrease in service. So when we factored all of these in, we figured out that potentially this could cause a $3.1 billion reduction in economic output. And in terms of employment, that's more than 14,000 jobs. That's not taking

into account any negative sentiment from people not wanting to come in or any economic changes within the US that would affect traveller spending. So there you go. That's tariffs. Talking about visas and border policy, it's the same thing. The portion of the

of motor coach group travel is from inbound international tourists. And so a reduction in those numbers means a reduction of the money coming in. And so yeah, it's a direct and measurable loss of economic impact.

Brian Jewell (21:52.561)
So if you ran the same study, you know, six months from now looking at 2025, the significant drop in visitation from Canada, for instance, would show up in these numbers in a noticeable way.

Omneya Fahmy (22:04.117)
And what is going to be particularly interesting is seeing the changes in the states that are particularly vulnerable to changes like that, states on the border. This is going to be something we're looking for in next year.

Brian Jewell (22:22.085)
Yeah. Well, it's fascinating to see how these policy things we read about in the newspaper have actual dollars and cents impacts in our industry. And as you said, they have employment impacts. know, 14,000 jobs lost just to tariffs is certainly a tragedy and something I think we can all hope we're able to see a reversal on. So this has been super helpful. I want to make sure people know how to

Number one, get the report. Number two, reach out to both of you. Find, follow you, engage in your work. So, Lou, I know you said buses.org is where the report is. What else should people do if they want to connect with you, follow you on social or otherwise engage with what you're doing?

Lew Myers (23:07.095)
Absolutely, and that's B-U-S-E-S plural dot org buses dot org. anyone needs to get in contact with me via email, that is L. Meyers. So L-M-Y-E-R-S at buses dot org. And you can find me on LinkedIn as well under Lou Meyers III. And so happy to engage and answer any questions from the from the audience.

Brian Jewell (23:32.303)
Yeah, excellent. Neha, what about you? How can people reach out to you, find you, follow what you're doing?

Omneya Fahmy (23:37.933)
so many ways. So our website is TourismEconomics.com. You can also find me on LinkedIn and my email is O Fahmy at OxfordEconomics.com.

Brian Jewell (23:52.033)
Excellent. We're going to put links to all of those in the show notes. So listeners, you don't have to grab a pen and frantically write all that down. Just go to the show notes, click through, and you can find these two great people on multiple platforms. Before we let you go, we have some questions we ask everybody, and these are just for fun. So no pressure. You can just kind of give me the first answer that comes to mind. Lou, we'll start with you. When you book travel, do you book window seats or aisle seats? Yeah. What's the thought process there?

Lew Myers (24:18.48)
Window.

Lew Myers (24:21.987)
love being on the right side of the plane leaving DC where you can catch the Capitol, the Mall, the Washington Monument and that's pretty special when it's a nice clear day and so I usually try and book early to get that right window seat.

Brian Jewell (24:37.539)
I love that. That is a great answer. What about you Omnia?

Omneya Fahmy (24:39.805)
It's such a great answer, you're going to be disappointed in mine. So I like the window seat, but it's just mainly for comfort. I have something additional to sleep. So there you go. Sorry, sorry, it's not as good as an answer.

Brian Jewell (24:43.471)
Ha ha!

Lew Myers (24:51.473)
Yeah.

Brian Jewell (24:52.134)
Yeah.

Brian Jewell (24:55.993)
No, listen, are you one of those people that can fall asleep just on any plane anytime?

Omneya Fahmy (24:58.953)
I don't, it's just that I get motion sickness, so I end up being medicated, and so I have to doze off for the entire flight.

Brian Jewell (25:03.665)
Gotcha.

Brian Jewell (25:08.675)
Yeah, okay. Well, that makes sense. All right, next question. What is one thing in your carry on that you wouldn't travel without? Lou, we'll start with you.

Lew Myers (25:21.201)
I would say my brush. I like to try and keep the waves going a little bit here. I like to, my mom always told me, you brush your hair before you go out to school and church? So the brush is outside of the toothbrush. The hairbrush is the next thing that goes into the travel bag. So hard for me to leave home without it.

Brian Jewell (25:43.097)
Yeah, if you're not watching on YouTube, Lou has got it just expertly quaffed. So it's important, important to keep it that way. What about what about you? your hair looks great to you, by the way.

Lew Myers (25:50.041)
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Omneya Fahmy (25:56.754)
Thank you. Yeah, makeup and jewelry. I have done it in the past to forget my makeup bag and it was a disaster. So I've learned not to.

Lew Myers (25:57.199)
This is true.

Brian Jewell (26:01.211)
Yeah.

Brian Jewell (26:09.303)
I that I've, can relate to you. There have been times where I, one time I forgot my entire toiletry bag and I literally had to leave the conference and go to like a ride aid a few blocks away and get some essentials. So, that's, that's stuff you just can't miss. Omnia, if you had a free airline pass and a week with nothing else to do, where would you be headed next?

Lew Myers (26:19.09)
Thank you.

Omneya Fahmy (26:32.379)
I'm Egyptian and it's always very nice to go back home.

Brian Jewell (26:37.999)
Hmm. Yeah, that's lovely. What about you, Lou?

Lew Myers (26:41.522)
I've always wanted to go to Fiji. As a golfer, obviously I followed Tiger Woods. Vijay Singh was also one of my favorite golfers and he was a Fijian. I always thought it was just beautiful to be out in the oceanic countries. So that is on the bucket list.

Brian Jewell (26:57.753)
Yeah, absolutely. Both of those places are actually on my bucket list. So either of you that gets that opportunity, let me know. I'll find a way to tag along. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. let's see, Lou, what is one thing you have seen or done on the road that you wish you could go back and experience again with somebody you love?

Omneya Fahmy (27:03.222)
Lew Myers (27:03.772)
There you go. Fly friend.

Lew Myers (27:18.096)
Wow, I'll take a different approach. I think one of the cool things has been full circle in my life and in my career is I remember in seventh grade taking that bus trip from Durham, North Carolina to DC for the the, know, for the nation's capital. You know, every every student hopefully gets an opportunity to do that road trip. And so I remember those experiences and those times listening to CDs.

hanging out with your friends and now to actually be working in the bus and motor coach travel space is really full circle. I pinched myself. I never thought it would be like this, but when I first joined, I said, wow, I instantly went back to seventh grade when we used to take those field trips. Not only to get out of school, but to experience some cool things with friends. So yeah, very special.

Brian Jewell (28:11.409)
that is so special. know, that class trip to DC in middle school was also my introduction to group travel. And I loved it. I thought it was the greatest thing ever. So the fact that here I am as an adult and I have worked in that industry for years and years is just a total mind blowing blessing. So I love your answer. Omne, I'm going to give you the last word. Same question. Something you've seen or done on the road that you wish you could experience again with somebody you love.

Lew Myers (28:14.768)
Class trip. That's right.

Omneya Fahmy (28:36.949)
I've taken a group trip with my work colleagues from Vancouver to Whistler and the drive is just so scenic, I would absolutely do it again.

Brian Jewell (28:50.897)
Oh my gosh, British Columbia, totally one of the most gorgeous parts of North America. And there's a lot of gorgeous parts. So I completely agree. Anybody who has the opportunity to drive through the mountains there, you've got to take it. Absolutely. We all, this has been so helpful. I can't thank you enough for joining us, Lou and Omnia. I hope you have a great day.

Omneya Fahmy (28:52.211)
Yes.

Omneya Fahmy (29:10.793)
Thank you. Thanks, Brian.

Lew Myers (29:12.39)
Thank you, Brian.