Foreign exchange exposure of US tourism-related firms

To date, literature on foreign exchange risk has paid a particular attention to multinationals in trade-related industries. The tourism sector is also sensitive to the exchange rates between travelers’ home countries and their destinations. Suspecting that the exposure of domestic tourism-related firms to foreign exchange risk results from price elasticity of demand, the current study tested the cash flow exposure of sample firms, accounting for nonlinearity, asymmetry, and lagged effects. As a result, a significant percentage (78%) of domestic tourism-related firms was found to have significant foreign exchange exposure. This study also found that exchange rate exposure for tourism-related firms was nonlinear, asymmetric, and lagged. The evidence implied that several tourism-related firms are passive regarding their exposure and may face financial burdens caused by demand fluctuations. Implications and suggestions are presented along with the findings of the study.