Recent data published by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) shows that the total number of international visitors to the United States, excluding US residents, reached 6,163,140 in September, marking an increase of 6.8 percent compared to the previous month. This number represents 91.9 percent of the total visitor volume recorded in September 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The volume of overseas visitors to the United States was 3,061,483, reflecting a 4.5 percent rise from September 2023.
The highest number of international arrivals originated from Canada (1,612,898), followed by Mexico (1,488,759), the United Kingdom (386,227), Germany (202,966), and India (181,163). Collectively, these five countries accounted for 62.8 percent of all international arrivals.
Among the top 20 markets for inbound international travel to the United States in September, only South Korea (-0.1 percent), Israel (-10.2 percent), and Ecuador (-8 percent) experienced a decline in visitor numbers compared to the previous month.
The leading countries for overseas tourism arrivals in September included the United Kingdom (322,406), Germany (172,173), Japan (144,956), South Korea (134,400), and Brazil (133,505).
In terms of overseas business arrivals for September, the top five countries were the United Kingdom (61,829), India (45,067), Japan (31,509), Germany (29,313), and China (20,963). For overseas student arrivals, the leading countries were China (34,127), India (19,641), South Korea (5,678), Japan (3,665), and Taiwan (3,480).
In September 2024, the total number of international departures by US citizens reached 8,512,196, reflecting a 6.2 percent increase from September 2023 and representing 112.1 percent of the total departures recorded in September 2019, prior to the pandemic.
For the year-to-date (YTD), North America, which includes Mexico and Canada, held a market share of 49.3 percent, while overseas destinations accounted for 50.7 percent.
Mexico emerged as the leading destination, with an outbound visitor volume of 3,028,118, constituting 35.6 percent of total departures for September and 35.7 percent on a YTD basis. Conversely, Canada experienced a year-over-year decline of 2.3 percent.
When considering the combined YTD figures, Mexico (28,934,585) and the Caribbean (8,753,858) together represented 46.5 percent of all international departures by U.S. citizens.
Europe ranked as the second largest market for outbound U.S. travelers, with 2,381,529 departures, accounting for 28 percent of total departures in September. Notably, outbound travel to Europe in September 2024 saw an increase of 7.6 percent compared to the same month in 2023.
