Skift Travel News Blog

International inbound travelers spent nearly $163 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services in 2022, up 96 percent from 2021, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office’s latest monthly data. On average, international travelers spent more than $445 million a day in 2022.

The month of December saw international spending on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the U.S. reach $16.5 billion, up nearly 49 percent year over year and the single highest month since February 2020, when the pandemic struck. The previous high went to November 2022, when spending hit $15.9 billion.

The U.S. ended up with a travel trade surplus in December. American traveler spending abroad amounted to more than $15.5 billion, yielding a surplus of $932 million. The U.S. also had a travel trade surplus in November and October.

International traveler spending on lodging, recreation and other goods and services inside the U.S. totaled $9.1 billion in December, up 68 percent year over year but down from $11.8 billion in December 2019.

International visitors spent $15.9 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the U.S. in November, up 57 percent year over year, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office.  That’s an improvement from November 2021, but it’s billions of dollars down from international visitor spending in pre-pandemic November 2019, which had $20 billion.

From January to November, international visitors to the U.S. spent more than $146 billion, up more than 103 year over year and translating into an average of over $437 million per day going into the U.S. economy.

The U.S. ended up with a travel surplus in November. Americans traveling abroad spent more than $15.2 billion in November, yielding a trade balance of $703 million. The U.S. also had a travel trade surplus in October.

International visitor purchases of travel and tourism-related goods and services, which includes entertainment, food and recreation, totaled $8.6 billion in November 2022, up 77 percent compared to the previous year. That’s below the total in November 2019, when international visitor purchases amounted to $11.7 billion.

International inbound visitors spent more than $15.8 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States in October, making it the highest monthly level of spending since Covid struck in February 2020, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office. 

Year to date international travel spending has accumulated to $129.9 billion, up more than 110 percent year over year. That translated into $427 million spending per day for the U.S. economy.

International travelers spent a total of $8.8 billion on lodging, recreation and other travel and tourism-related goods and services in October, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office. International travel spending for that month was down nearly $3 billion compared to October 2019, which had $11.7 billion.

The U.S. also came out with a trade surplus in October. Americans traveling abroad spent around $15.8 billion, giving the U.S. a slight trade plus of $58 million for October. In September, the U.S. had a trade deficit of more than $1 billion. 

One likely reason why the surplus was so small has been the ongoing delay to process first-time visitor visa applications at American embassies in multiple countries outside the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. The U.S. Travel Association estimates the average wait time for first-time visa applicants from key U.S. markets has exploded to 400 days.