Skift Take
We're four months into 2023 and first-time visitors from the U.S.'s top inbound countries still have to wait nearly a year for just an interview. This is slowing down the U.S.'s recovery to its pre-pandemic level.
U.S. visitor visa wait times remain over 400 days on average for first-time visa applicants from top inbound markets, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
Destinations and hotels will continue to be starved of many tourists and business travelers from India, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and 6 other countries because they have to wait 407 days on average to obtain an interview in order to get a visitor visa.
The ongoing backlog reinforces a Skift megatrend that 2023 will be a year of international travel bottlenecks. In 2023, the U.S. will lose out on 2.6 million and $7 bill