New forecast highlights growth of international visits to U.S.

According to NTTO, there were 66.5 million international visits the U.S. in 2023, reflecting 31% annual growth, but still at just 84% of pre-pandemic inbound visitation levels

Looking ahead, international inbound visits to the U.S. are expected to continue to rebound. In 2024, a 17% increase is forecast to 77.7 million, just 2% shy of the 79.4 million in 2019 prior to COVID’s impact.

Key takeaways

• Visitors from many countries spend an average of over $4,000 per visit, and collectively contribute $155 billion in U.S. travel spending every year;
• During Q1 of 2024, visits from Europe and the Americas (including the Caribbean) already exceeded pre-pandemic levels. The Middle East and Africa have recovered to 90% of 2019 levels. But visits from Asia continue to lag significantly—with visits from China and Japan still only half of 2019 levels, resulting in 4 million fewer visitors annually.
• NTTO forecasts that visits from those countries won’t fully recover until late 2025 or 2026. India, on the other hand, had terrific growth and already significantly exceeded pre-pandemic visitor levels.

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