Top 21 Countries Bringing International Travelers to the U.S.
Ordering foreign currency online is easy with OnlineFX.The National Travel and Tourism Office has released its six-year forecast for international travel to the United States. Taking a look at recent travel trends, the forecast estimates almost all of the top ranked incoming travel countries will have an increase of travelers.
The forecast is prepared by the Department of Commerce/National Travel and Tourism using economic, demographic, and social factors. Below are the top 21 countries who bring travelers to the United States. “These markets account for 88 percent of total international travels.”
| Rank Order 2016 | Visitor Origin Country | Actual 2016 | Forecast 2022 | % Change |
| Grand Total | 75,868 | 88,956 | 17% | |
| 1 | Canada | 19,289 | 23,477 | 22% |
| 2 | Mexico | 18,991 | 19,839 | 4% |
| Over Seas | 37,589 | 45,640 | 21% | |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 4,574 | 4,894 | 7% |
| 4 | Japan | 3,577 | 3,758 | 5% |
| 5 | China | 2,972 | 4,537 | 53% |
| 6 | Germany | 2,035 | 2,203 | 8% |
| 7 | South Korea | 1,974 | 2,887 | 46% |
| 8 | Brazil | 1,693 | 1,843 | 9% |
| 9 | France | 1,628 | 1,961 | 20% |
| 10 | Australia | 1,346 | 1,575 | 17% |
| 11 | India | 1,172 | 1,407 | 20% |
| 12 | Italy | 983 | 1,195 | 22% |
| 13 | Argentina | 906 | 935 | 3% |
| 14 | Colombia | 836 | 910 | 9% |
| 15 | Spain | 801 | 955 | 19% |
| 16 | Netherlands | 672 | 778 | 16% |
| 17 | Venezuela | 580 | 388 | -33% |
| 18 | Sweden | 559 | 622 | 11% |
| 19 | Switzerland | 469 | 475 | 1% |
| 20 | Taiwan | 463 | 532 | 15% |
| 21 | Ireland | 442 | 564 | 28% |
visitors in the thousands
Source: National Travel & Tourism Office (NTTO)
Canada and Mexico Rank Highest
As you can see, Canada and Mexico are the top two countries, and these alone made just over 50 percent of incoming international travel in 2016. Among overseas travel, the United Kingdom, Japan, and China have been the top three respectively.
While Canada and Mexico alone made up 51 percent of the incoming travel in 2016, overseas travel made up the other 49 percent. This is projected to flip by 2022, with the rate of overseas travelers to the U.S. predicted to increase more rapidly than those from Canada and Mexico.
China Ranks Number Five
While China is fifth among the countries who bring international travelers to the U.S., they are actually predicted to be the largest source of tourism expenditure globally by 2022. Their growth is expected to be very strong at 8.4% over the period 2017-2022. “Outside of Asia, the US and France are likely to benefit the most, due to their China-ready approach.”
As a whole, it is projected that international visitors to the U.S. will increase from 75.9 million reported in 2016 to 89 million in 2022. This is an increase of 17 percent in just six years! We can clearly see that the U.S. continues to attract more and more international travelers every year.
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