Skift Travel News Blog

International inbound travelers spent nearly $16.8 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the U.S. in March, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office, up more than 49 percent year over year.

International traveler purchases of food, entertainment, gifts and other travel and tourism-related goods and services totaled $9.7 billion in March 2023, up nearly 77 percent year over year.

Americans traveling abroad spent a record $17.4 billion. Last month, Americans also spent a record $17.4 billion traveling abroad.

For the month of March, the U.S. experienced a travel trade deficit of $572 million. Out of seven of the last eleven months, the U.S. has run a travel trade deficit, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office. Prior to July 2021, the U.S. never recorded a monthly travel trade deficit.  

To date this year, international travelers have spent nearly $49.1 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services, up 61 percent year over year. International visitors have injected, on average, more than $545 million a day into the U.S. economy year to date.

The National Travel and Tourism Office has named Brian Beall as its next director. Starting May 8, Beall will lead the department toward enhancing the international competitiveness of the U.S. travel and tourism industry and increase U.S. travel and tourism exports. He is rejoining the department after spending nearly four years in the private sector as Cruise Lines International Association’s vice president of government affairs.

The National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) is in the International Trade Administration’s Industry and Analysis division in the U.S. Department of Commerce. A major objective of the U.S. Department of Commerce is to attract 90 million international visitors by 2027.

During his time at NTTO, Beall was Deputy Director for Policy and Planning from 2014 to 2019.  He has also served a variety of roles at the International Trade Administration, including Senior Advisor to the Deputy Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service and Senior International Trade Specialist in the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade.

Total inbound International visitation to the U.S. amounted 4.8 million in January, up 93 percent year over year and about 82 percent of January 2019’s volume, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office’s latest data. This was the twenty-second consecutive month that international visitor volume grew year over year.

Canada, Mexico, the UK, South Korea and Brazil were January’s top source markets and they accounted for around 70 percent of pre-pandemic January 2019’s visitor volume. Overseas volume, i.e. not from Canada and Mexico, amounted to 1.9 million, up 91 percent year over year.

Total outbound travel from the U.S. amounted to 6.4 million, up 60 percent year over year and representing 99 percent of pre-pandemic January 2019’s volume. Mexico and Canada combined made up 54 percent of U.S. visitor departures, while overseas made up 46 percent. Mexico was the top outbound market, followed by the Caribbean.

Americans spent $17.4 billion traveling abroad in February, a record for the U.S., according to the National Travel and Tourism Office. 

International visitors to the U.S. spent nearly $16.9 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States, a 64 percent year over year increase. On travel and tourism-related goods and services like entertainment and food specifically, international visitors spent $9.5 billion in February, up 97 percent year over year.

Compared to American travel spending abroad, the U.S. recorded a monthly deficit of more than $480 million, meaning more money flowed out than in on travel and tourism-related activities in February. Prior to July 2021, the U.S. never recorded a monthly deficit. Since then, the U.S. has run a deficit for ten of the last 20 months, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office.

The U.S. hosted 51 million international visitors in 2022, amounting to 64 percent of its 2019 volume, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office’s latest data. Outbound travel from the U.S. totaled 80.8 million, down 19 percent from its pre-pandemic volume.

About 24 million traveled from overseas, i.e. not Canada and Mexico, up 161 percent from 2021. Western Europe was the largest regional source market with over 10 million visitors. South America came in second with 4.2 million. 

Among overseas countries, the UK was at the top with 3.5 million, followed by Germany at 1.5 million and France at 1.3 million. In 2022, New York was the largest point of entry at 4.5 million, Miami at second with 3.8 million, followed by Los Angeles at 2 million. 

In December, international inbound volume rose 46.2 percent year over year to 5 million, representing 73 percent of its pre-pandemic December volume. Overseas visitor volume to the U.S. totaled 2.5 million, representing 94 percent of its pre-pandemic December volume.

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.

International inbound travel to the U.S. is projected to be at 63 percent and 75 percent of its pre-pandemic volume in 2022 and 2023, respectively, according to the U.S. Travel Association’s biannual forecast. At this rate, international travel won’t reach pre-pandemic levels until 2025.

The projected slump is worse than USTA’s June forecast of international travel reaching 67 percent of pre-pandemic 2019 levels and 82 percent in 2023, respectively, reflecting the loss of $8 million more visitors and $28 billion in spending over those two years.

The slow recovery is due to the ongoing delays at U.S. embassies to process visitor visas. First-time visitor visa applicants have to wait over average of 400 days in the top 10 source markets for travel to the United States, and markets such as Brazil, India and Mexico have experienced worsened wait times in recent months, according to the U.S. Travel Association.