Skift Take
The record visitation levels are no surprise after consistent month-over-month growth, but do highlight the growing economic importance of the U.S. travel industry and the priority that it should begin to take in federal and local governments' budgets.
A record 75 million international visitors arrived in the United States in 2014, a 7 percent increase over 2013, confirmed U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Stefan M. Selig today.
The most recent data suggests that the country is on track to reach President Obama’s goal of attracting 100 million international visitors by 2021.
This data comes shortly after the National Travel and Tourism Office reported that the U.S. received a record $222.3 billion boost to the national economy from international visitors and that international air traffic to and from the U.S. reached a record 197.3 million in 2014.
A total 34.4 million visitors arrived from overseas, up 8 percent from 2013, accounting for 46 percent of international arrivals.
Arrivals from all regional markets markets increased between 6.2 percent and 17.1 percent year-over-year.
See total arrivals and market share for global regions below:
| World Region | Arrivals | 2014 Share | % Change From 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Europe | 12,784,471 | 37.1% | 6.2% |
| Asia | 9,641,032 | 28% | 6.1% |
| South America | 5,480,579 | 15.9% | 6.6% |
| Oceania | 1,555,382 | 4.5% | 8.6% |
| Caribbean | 1,338,644 | 3.9% | 15.8% |
| Middle East | 1,225,120 | 3.6% | 15.8% |
| Eastern Europe | 947,477 | 2.8% | 15.1% |
| Central America | 932,866 | 2.7% | 11.9% |
| Africa | 513,445 | 1.5% | 17.1% |
| Total Overseas | 34,419,016 | 100% | 7.5% |
Similar to monthly statistics that Skift publishes here, Canada and Mexico continue to be the largest source countries accounting for 64 percent of all arrivals.
A total 23 million visitors arrived from Canada, a 1.8 percent decline from 2013, and 17.3 million visitors arrived from Mexico, a large 19 percent increase from 2013.
Sixteen of the 20 largest source markets reported increases in 2014, eight of which were double-digit increases. Even more impressive, more than half – 12 – countries reported record level visits last year.
See arrivals and growth for the top 20 source countries below:
| Top 20 Countries | Arrivals | % Change From 2013 |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 22,975,195 | -1.8% |
| Mexico | 17,334,495 | 19.2% |
| UK | 3,972,655 | 3.6% |
| Japan | 3,579,363 | 4% |
| Brazil | 2,263,865 | 9.9% |
| China | 2,188,387 | 21% |
| Germany | 1,968,536 | 2.7% |
| France | 1,624,604 | 8% |
| South Korea | 1,449,538 | 6.6% |
| Australia | 1,276,124 | 5.9% |
| India | 961,790 | 11.9% |
| Italy | 934,066 | 11.3% |
| Colombia | 881,219 | 17.8% |
| Spain | 700,084 | 12.9% |
| Argentina | 684,727 | -0.2% |
| Venezuela | 615,975 | -21.8% |
| Netherlands | 615,856 | 4.5% |
| Sweden | 543,336 | 14% |
| Switzerland | 486,506 | 2.8% |
| Taiwan | 413,048 | 7.4% |
The Daily Newsletter
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Tags: skiftstats, usa
Photo credit: Tourists gather around the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. Gary McCabe / Flickr