Recent data published by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) indicates that in May 2024, the total number of international visitors to the United States, excluding US residents, reached 6,068,711.
This NTTO figure reflects a 12.7 percent increase compared to May 2023 and accounts for 90.5 percent of the total visitor volume recorded in May 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of overseas visitors to the United States reached 3,042,475 in May 2024, reflecting a 17.5 percent increase compared to May 2023. This marks the thirty-eighth consecutive month of year-over-year growth in total international arrivals from non-US residents. Additionally, May 2024 represents the fifteenth consecutive month in which the number of overseas visitors exceeded 2 million.
Among the top 20 countries sending tourists to the United States, only Canada, which recorded 1,726,007 visitors, experienced a decline in visitor numbers in May 2024 compared to May 2023, reflecting a decrease of 0.2 percent.
The highest number of international arrivals came from Canada (1,726,007), followed by Mexico (1,300,229), the United Kingdom (355,648), India (263,150), and Germany (189,693). Collectively, these five countries represented 63.2 percent of the total international arrivals.
The total number of international departures by US citizens from the United States reached 9,265,840, reflecting a 9.7 percent increase compared to May 2023 and representing 108.6 percent of the total departures recorded in May 2019, prior to the pandemic. May 2024 marked the thirty-eighth consecutive month of year-over-year growth in international visitor departures by US citizens.
The year-to-date (YTD) market share for North America, encompassing Mexico and Canada, stood at 49.6 percent, while the international market accounted for 50.4 percent.
Mexico experienced the highest outbound visitor volume, totaling 3,024,756, which represented 32.6 percent of all departures in May and 39.6 percent year-to-date. In contrast, Canada observed a year-over-year increase of 12.5 percent.
In total, year-to-date figures indicate that Mexico (15,963,170) and the Caribbean (4,974,473) together represented 51.9 percent of all international departures by US citizens.
Europe ranked as the second largest destination for outbound US travelers, with 2,382,286 departures, which constituted 25.7 percent of the total departures in May.
Furthermore, outbound travel to Europe in May 2024 saw a 10.9 percent increase compared to the same month in 2023.
