The big picture: US travel spending in figures
- Contributing $2.36 trillion to the nation’s economy last year, the US is the world’s most powerful travel and tourism market.
- Travel and tourism support 18 million jobs across the US.
- The economic footprint produced by the tourism and travel industry is $2.8 trillion.
- The average ticket prices for the top 10 busiest airports in the US range from $273.31 to $472.97, with San Francisco topping the list.
- Travelers in the US spend an average of $324 per day on vacation, based on the typical expenses of other visitors. On average, daily spending includes $96 on meals, $46 on local transportation, and $262 on hotels.
Incoming! Inbound travelers on the rise
- US inbound tourism statistics show that international tourism is booming; there were 66.5 million international visits to the US in 2023.
- International tourists from various countries spend an average of over $4,000 per trip, contributing a total of $155 billion annually to US travel spending.
- The National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) forecasts the total number of international visitors to the United States to increase to 77.7 million in 2024.
- Of all US cities, Cleveland is the cheapest city to visit, while New York is the most expensive.
- The National Travel and Tourism strategy aims to welcome 90 million international visitors annually by 2027.
- New York City is the preferred destination for international arrivals, welcoming just under 9 million in 2023. Miami came second, with 4.4 million international arrivals, while Los Angeles welcomed 3.6 million.
- Canada and Mexico continue to be the leading sources of visitor arrivals to the United States, with 20.51 million and 14.5 million visitors, respectively. Excluding these two countries, the United Kingdom ranks first with 3.9 million visitors.
- The majority of travelers to North America visited for leisure, accounting for 58.6% of total international arrivals.
- Single people account for the largest share of inbound travelers (41.4%).
- New Orleans is the most affordable city for backpackers, with an average daily cost of $94.70. This includes a hostel bed, three budget meals, public transportation, one cultural attraction, and three cheap beers.
US domestic tourism statistics: Travel within the US is still popular
- The US is the world’s largest domestic travel market, valued at $1 trillion in annual spending.
- 68% of all trips that start in the US remain within its borders.
- Domestic tourism is expected to grow by 3% annually and represent 70% of spending by 2030.
- Unalakleet in Alaska is the most expensive airport for domestic air travel, with an average ticket cost of $1,405.50.
- 44% of American travelers are choosing destinations close to home due to inflation.
- Baby Boomers are most likely to travel domestically (73%), while Gen Z are most likely to travel internationally (46%).
- 41% of US citizens are willing to pay for premium amenities that enhance their travel experience.
- 56% of Americans prefer short domestic trips.
- Traditional hotels are a top choice for traveler accommodation (72%).
- The most popular American airlines are Delta, American Airlines, and Southwest.
- The top destinations for domestic tourists are Hawaii, Las Vegas, and New York.
Heading off! US outbound tourism statistics
- Whether they’re traveling to France, Germany, or Japan, there are 98.46 million outbound American tourists.
- The US is the largest inbound travel market for Canadians.
- Americans spend $215.4 billion abroad every year.
- Mexico tops the list of popular destinations for outbound travel, followed by Canada and the UK.
- Outbound tourism in the US is projected to reach a value of USD 108.81 billion in 2024 and grow to USD 412.26 billion by 2034.
- About a quarter of Americans (23%) have not traveled internationally.
- Roughly 76% of Americans have traveled to at least one other country, with 26% having visited five or more.
- Last year’s average traveling household in the US had a combined income of $154,000.
- 20.2 million American outbound tourists visited Europe in 2023.
- 80% of Americans traveling to Europe plan to spend seven days on vacation, while 11% intend to stay for eight days.
The rocketing popularity of hiking tourism
- Over 61 million Americans participated in hiking activities at least once in 2023.
- In the US, hiking is the most popular outdoor activity.
- 59.4 percent of hikers are male; 40.6 percent are female.
- There are over 88,600 miles of trails in the US National Scenic Trails System.
- Over 4,000 people attempt the Appalachian trail every year, but almost 75% fail.
- California, Colorado, and Washington are considered the best states for hiking.
- The most dangerous hike in the US is Mount Rainier. This is due to quickly changing weather, falling rocks, avalanches, and an unpredictable volcano.
- There are plenty of hiking trails to choose from in the US, with Yosemite National Park in California and the Tongass National Forest in Alaska two of the most popular destinations.
Medical tourism: rising on a global scale
- The US medical tourism market is valued at $8.74 billion.
- Inbound medical tourism led the market in 2023, driven by a rising number of cases of cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and other chronic conditions.
- Around 14 million people in the world travel to other countries in search of medical care every year.
- The key industry participants in the US inbound medical tourism market include The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and Cedars-Sinai.
- Medical tourism destinations for US residents include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador.
- The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) reports that most cosmetic surgery tourists are women between 40 and 54 years old.
- According to the most recent research, China was the leading country of origin for medical travelers in the US (15%)
- Based on region, the Asia Pacific region held the largest medical tourism market share in 2023.
- Over 97% of medical tourists view ‘trust’ as a significant or paramount factor in their choices.
- Mexico receives 1 million medical tourists seeking health services every year; most of them are Canadians and Americans.
- Medical services in Panama cost between 40% and 70% less than in the United States or Canada.
Sports tourism: from basketball to baseball
- The sports tourism market was valued at $50.4 billion in 2023.
- The market is estimated to reach $185.3 billion by 2033.
- The US sports tourism market accounts for around 10.5% of the global sports tourism market.
- Sports-related travel provided $52.2 billion in direct economic impact in 2023.
- Over 200 million people traveled for amateur and collegiate sports events in 2023.
- Sports-related travel generated more than 73.5 million room nights in 2023.
- American football is the most watched spectator sport in the country.
- Reports show that players and officials stay an average of 2.9 days longer than other tourists and spend an average of 20% more per day than regular tourists.
- In 2023, the sports tourism industry supported 757,600 jobs.
- 45% of Americans have left the country to see a sports game.
- 35% of Americans have planned a vacation based on when and where their favorite team is playing.
- The average sports fan would be willing to travel five hours and 48 minutes for a game and would spend $762.20 for tickets.
Business tourism: in-person meetings are still around
- The most recent research found that business travel spending generated $421.1 billion per year.
- The business travel sector supports 6 million jobs and represents 2% of US GDP and 3.5% of total employment.
- 429.9 million business trips were taken within the US.
- Americans take more than 405 million business trips annually, equating to over 1 million business travelers each day.
- Business travelers are big spenders; per business trip spend averages $632.
- It costs an average of $354.55 for domestic travel trips in most major American cities (including California and Massachusetts).
- The average cost of an international business trip is around $2,600.
- 51% of US employees believe that in-person meetings boost productivity and creativity.
- Business travelers travel for an average of 4.1 days during each trip.
- Bleisure travel represented 33.8% of all travel and travelers averaged 4.4 days during these trips.
- The business travel market is expected to reach $829.5 billion by 2027.
- 62% of CEOs expected their travel budgets to increase in 2024, compared to 2023.
- The top reason for increasing travel budgets was to expand into new markets (47%). Other key factors included attending more conferences and events (45%) and growing headcount (39%).
- New York ranked as the world's most expensive city for business travel, with an average daily cost of approximately $685.
- The average business traveler takes 6.8 business trips per year.
- For SMBs and mid-sized companies, every dollar spent on business travel generates an average of $12 in revenue, largely driven by new customer acquisition.
- 67% of business travelers believe their company would lose revenue without in-person meetings, while 95% of C-suite executives think they would lose customers.
- 56% of business travelers book their own hotel rooms and flights; 44% have someone else handle the bookings for them.
- 74% of travelers say it’s important to minimize their environmental footprint while traveling for business.
- Millennial and Gen Z employees are the biggest business travelers, with 53% of each group planning to travel for business.
- Bleisure trips have a worldwide market value of nearly $600 billion.
- Accommodation accounts for the largest portion of a typical corporate travel budget at 34%, followed by meals at 20%, and flights ranging between 17% to 27%.
Music tourism: as vibrant as ever
- The music tourism market value stands at $7.17 billion.
- International music tourism contributes a 61% share of the market.
- One in three concert-goers in the United States intended to increase their spending on live music events within the next year.
- Nashville, New Orleans, and New York are the most popular cities for live music.
- Americans would spend $728.49 to attend their dream concert or festival.
- The majority of concertgoers would drive to their dream show, with 73.7% willing to travel hundreds of miles by car.
- New York and San Francisco are the most expensive cities for music, with concert tickets, accommodation, round-trip flights, meals, and ride shares costing an average of $1,793 and $1,692 respectively.
- New York also hosts the most music concerts.
- 40% of Americans planned on taking a pop culture trip in 2024; 56% of those planned to travel to attend a music event this year.
- 44% of US travelers would fly short haul to see their favorite artist live; 18% would fly long haul.
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