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Tourism and travel have an enormous impact on the global economy, ranging from an increase in economic activities, and employment opportunities to income generation, to investment, growth, and development opportunities.
It suffices to say that tourism is fundamental to global economic development in no small way.
This article aims to provide travel enthusiasts, tourism professionals, and business owners in the travel industry with an overview of key US travel tourism statistics, and insights into the industry.
Global Travel Statistics
With a resurgence of international travel post-COVID, here are the latest global travel statistics showing the number of people who travel each year, where they travel to, and the impact of these travels.
Overall Travel Volume
According to UN Tourism, global travels reached an estimated 1.4 billion tourists in 2024. This is higher than the figure for global travel in 2023 by 140 million.
In 2023, an estimated 975 million tourists engaged in international travel between January and September 2023. This figure is a 38% increase from the records for 2022 across the same months.
These records are fast approaching the 2019 global travel statistics of 1.5 billion, which peaked before the coronavirus outbreak.
Growth of Tourism over the past Decade
The tourism industry has experienced the most massive growth over the past decades, until 2019, just before the coronavirus outbreak, with global tourism figures reaching 1.5 billion.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, international tourism grew by 4% yearly from 2010 to 2019, reaching 1.5 billion by the end of 2019.
This growth was brought about by an increase in how many tourists travel each year among middle-class citizens and emerging markets like Asia, Latin America and Africa.
However, the pandemic caused a massive decline in global travel by 74% in 2020. The industry began to show signs of recovery in 2021 and 2022, as international travel rebounded by 58% in 2021.
With the improvements experienced in 2022 to 2024, it is projected that by 2025, global tourism will surpass pre-pandemic levels.
Key travel destinations
Some of the most popular travel destinations have remained the same over the years, with France, Spain, the US, China, and Italy being the 5 most visited countries. This is the order of some of the most popular tourist destinations and how many people visit them:
- France (89.4m)
- Spain (83.7m)
- United States (79.3m)
- China (65.7m)
- Italy (64.5m)
Others include Turkey, Mexico, Thailand, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Global Travels: Modes of transportation
Some of the most common modes of international transportation include air, road, and sea, with trains being the least popular.
According to the Geography of transport systems, air travel comprises the largest share of international tourism, with more tourists booking flights making up 59 percent of the travel total. After air, road travel comes in second with 35 percent, and sea and train come behind.
US Tourism Statistics
This section covers American travel statistics and international vacation statistics.
Domestic Travel Statistics in the US
As with international travel, the outbreak of coronavirus also led to a decline in domestic travel across the US. Despite a rebound in international travel, domestic travel still faced a decline in 2020.
According to the Global Business Travel Association, domestic travel fell in the middle of 2020, declining by a record 58.4%. However, it rebounded, and the growth reached its highest in 2021, with a 79.5% rise in domestic in 2021 and another increase of 23.9% in 2022.
The Global Business Travel Association reports a growth decelerated in 2023, with a 9.2% growth in domestic travel.
In an interesting turn of events, average American travel statistics showed a decrease in 2024, but are expected to increase slightly increase 1.7%.
Popular Destinations for domestic travel in the US
Over the years, domestic travel destinations have remained the same in terms of popularity, including:
- New York
- Las Vegas
- Hawaii
- Orlando
- Los Angeles
- Phoenix
International travel to the US
According to the International Trade Administration, the total number of international visitors to the US increased to 66.5 million in 2023, from 50.8 million in 2022, compared to 79.4 million in 2019.
According to The International Trade Administration, expenditure by international tourists reached $213.1 billion in 2023, from $165.5 billion in 2022, reaching 89% of travel exports in 2019. These exports supported 1.6 million jobs and accounted for 7.0% of U.S. exports of goods and services in 2023- a 5.5% increase from 2022.
According to the US Travel Association, international visitors spend over $4,000 per visit and contribute to the $155 billion expenditure by tourists in the U.S. every year.
US Tourism statistics by state
According to the International Trade Organization, New York was the most visited state in 2024, with over 9 million visits, followed by Florida with nearly 8 million visitors. California comes in third with over 6 million visits, followed by Nevada with over 2 million visits. Texas comes in 5th with nearly 2 million visits.
In 2023, overseas travelers visited New York the most, before Florida and California.
Emerging Travel Trends
As travel has picked up globally and continues to evolve, the following emerging trends will shape the future of travel and tourism.
1. Sustainable Tourism
Sustainability is a key topic in the tourism industry, with discussions focusing on promoting responsible and conservative traveling while reducing the negative environmental impact of tourism.
According to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, nearly 65% of travelers consider the environmental impact when choosing travel destinations. It is expected to lead to a rising demand for eco-friendly hotels and hotel booking services, and more conservative travel activities.
2. Adventure Travel
Adventure tourism is on the increase globally as many travelers are seeking exploratory travel activities and natural travel destinations with thrilling activities.
According to a global adventure tourism report, the global adventure tourism market size, which was valued at $804.51 billion in 2024, is projected to reach $896.06 billion in 2025, and $1,682.28 billion by 2032.
3. Digital Nomadism
Digital nomadism has grown side by side with remote work. Digital nomads travel from one country to the other on business tours, where they live and work.
According to a 2022 report by the MBO Partners, 16.9 million American workers describe themselves as digital nomads. This is a 9% from 2021 and a 131% increase from 2019.
4. Remote Work and Travel
Remote work and travel are similar to digital nomadism, with individuals combining travel and work, occasioned by the rise in completely remote jobs.
A 2024 survey by Global Rescue showed that over 59% of respondents are inspired to embrace a blend of leisure and business travel more due to their remote or hybrid workplace model. 30% of respondents already travel for remote work.
We can expect to see more people seeking business travel services for work and travel.
5. Wellness Tourism
Wellness tourism is another fast-growing area of tourism. Many travelers are embracing traveling as a way to improve their physical, emotional, and mental health. This is increasing interest in activities like Muay Thai, yoga, spa treatments, meditation, and other health-focused offerings.
According to the Global Wellness Institute, the global wellness economy reached $6.3 trillion in 2023, which is 6.03% of global GDP. It is expected to grow at a rate of 7.3% year from 2023-2028 and reach $6.8 trillion in 2024, and nearly $9.0 trillion in 2028.
