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April 07, 2014

2013 Releases
International Visitation to the United States and
Fast Facts and Key Facts Reports on the Travel and Tourism Industry

The U.S. Department of Commerce today released 2013 International Visitation from the Top 20 Countries to the United States and Fast Facts and Key Facts for the U.S. travel and tourism industry, which are now available on the National Travel and Tourism Office website <https://travel.trade.gov>.

Highlights: 2013 International Visitation to the United States

  • 2013 international visitation to the United States set a new record to support the National Travel and Tourism Strategy.
  • The United States welcomed 69.8 million international visitors in 2013, 3 million more than the year before.
  • The top inbound markets continued to be Canada and Mexico. Canada set a record for visits to the United States in 2013, and was up three percent. Mexico was up one percent, and registered its fourth straight increase in arrivals, but it has not surpassed the record arrivals seen in 2007.
  • Annual overseas visits (excluding Canada and Mexico) totaled 32.0 million in 2013, up eight percent over 2012.
    • Travel from overseas markets accounted for 46 percent of total arrivals to the United States.
  • Eighteen of the top 20 countries registered increases in non-resident visits in 2013.
    • Seven of the top 20 countries registered double-digit increases.
  • Eleven of the top 20 inbound countries registered record level visits in 2013: Canada, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China, France, South Korea, Australia, India, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina and Sweden.

Top 20 Countries

Country of Residence 2013 Visits to the United States (millions) 2013 vs. 2012
% Change(1)
  Canada(2) 23.39 3
  Mexico 14.34 1
  United Kingdom 3.84 2
  Japan 3.73 1
  Brazil 2.06 15
  Germany 1.92 2
  People's Republic of China (EXCL HK)(2) 1.81 23
  France(2) 1.50 3
  South Korea(2) 1.36 9
  Australia(2) 1.21 7
  India(2) .86 19
  Italy .84 1
  Venezuela(2) .79 17
  Colombia(2) .75 24
  Argentina(2) .69 12
  Spain .62 2
  Netherlands .59 0
  Sweden(2) .48 8
  Switzerland .47 -1
  Taiwan .38 33

Fast Facts and Key Facts on the Travel and Tourism Industry
The Fast Facts: United States Travel and Tourism Industry - 2013 report and the Key Facts about International Travel and Tourism report provide summaries of key information on the impact of travel and tourism on the U.S. economy. These reports include aggregate data on:

  • Employment
  • Market Share
  • Receipts
  • Visitation

To view or download a PDF version of either the Fast Facts report or the Key Facts report, please go to: <https://travel.trade.gov/outreachpages/inbound.general_information.inbound_overview.html>

2013 Report on International Visitation to the United States

The 2013 report on International Visitation to the United States is scheduled to be released mid-late April 2014. This report includes a brief analysis, tables, charts and graphs outlining 2013 international visitor volume data for:

  • Total International Arrivals
  • Top Overseas Regions
  • Top 50 Markets
  • Comparison of Pleasure to Business Visitors
  • Top Ports-of-Entry

You will be able to access this report at: <https://travel.trade.gov/outreachpages/inbound.general_information.inbound_overview.html>

Access to NTTO Data
The National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) collects, analyzes and disseminates international travel and tourism statistics from the U.S. Travel and Tourism Statistical System. NTTO produces visitation data tables, including a more detailed region, country and port analyses. To access these data, you are encouraged to visit the NTTO monthly arrivals page at <https://travel.trade.gov/view/m-2013-I-001/index.html>.

National Travel and Tourism Strategy
In 2012, a Task Force on Travel Competitiveness, chaired by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior, developed the National Travel and Tourism Strategy to promote domestic and international opportunities throughout the United States and increase the U.S. market share of worldwide travel. The Tourism Policy Council, chaired by the Department of Commerce, is leading the implementation of the National Strategy through inter-agency working groups, including a Research Working Group chaired by the National Travel and Tourism Office. The I-94 Program supports the National Strategy’s call for expanded metrics on international travel to the United States. I-94 automation further supports this initiative as it greatly improves the measurement of international visitation data to the United States. To learn more about the National Strategy, you are encouraged to visit <https://travel.trade.gov/pdf/national-travel-and-tourism-strategy.pdf>. For more information on I-94 automation, please visit <www.cbp.gov>.

(1) Percent changes registered for international visitation to the United States for 2013 were calculated by comparing data for January - December 2013 to data for January - December 2012.

(2) Record level of visits in 2013.