According to recent data published by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO), international travelers expended a remarkable $21.6 billion on travel and tourism-related activities in the United States in October 2024. This figure represents an increase of nearly 8 percent in comparison to October 2023.
Also, in October, Americans allocated $21.4 billion for international travel, resulting in a trade surplus of $198 million for travel and tourism-related goods and services.
From January to October 2024, international visitors have contributed nearly $210.0 billion to U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services, reflecting a 13 percent increase compared to 2023. This translates to an average daily infusion of $691 million into the US economy.
By the end of 2024, annual spending by international visitors in the United States is projected to reach a record high, exceeding the previous peak of $242.0 billion set in 2018, when international visitors engaged with the US experience.
In October 2024, US travel and tourism exports represented 22.7 percent of total U.S. services exports and accounted for 8.1 percent of all US exports, including both goods and services.
In October 2024, international visitors in the United States spent a total of $12.2 billion on travel and tourism-related goods and services, marking an increase from $11.2 billion in October 2023, which represents an 8 percent rise year-over-year. This spending encompasses a variety of items, including food, lodging, recreational activities, gifts, entertainment, local transportation, and other incidental expenses associated with foreign travel.
Travel receipts constituted 56 percent of the overall US travel and tourism exports for October 2024.
U.S. carriers received $3.2 billion in fares from international visitors in October 2024, up from $3.1 billion in the same month the previous year, reflecting a 5 percent increase compared to October 2023. These receipts are derived from expenditures made by foreign residents on international flights operated by US airlines.
Passenger fare receipts represented 15 percent of the total US travel and tourism exports during October.
Additionally, expenditures related to educational and health tourism, as well as all spending by border, seasonal, and other short-term workers in the United States, reached $6.2 billion in October 2024, compared to $5.7 billion in October 2023, indicating a 9 percent increase from the previous year.
Medical tourism, education, and short-term worker expenditures accounted for 29 percent of the total US travel and tourism exports in October 2024.
