Skift Take
Although China represents the largest growth in inbound visitors, America's neighbors Mexico and Canada continue to deliver the highest volume of visitors and base of the U.S. tourism industry.
International visitors arriving in the U.S. jumped six percent to 5.1 million in January 2014, according to data released today by the National Travel and Tourism Office.
The jump in visitors was led largely by Chinese tourists whose visits increased by 33 percent, three times the next fastest growing market of Argentina.
The top inbound markets in terms of volume continue to be Canada and Mexico. Although visits from Canada remained flat, visits from Mexico increased eight percent.
Of the 10 countries with the most citizens visiting the U.S., Japan was the only country to post a decrease, of 3 percent, in outbound visitors. On the other hand, three of the top ten countries posted double-digit increases: China, Argentina and South Korea.
With inbound visitors to the U.S. six percent higher in January 2014 versus 2013, we can confidently suggest that annual tourism will also increase by at least several percentage points.
The top ten inbound markets for U.S. tourism are outlined below:
| Country of Residence | % Change January ’14 vs ’13 |
|---|---|
| Canada | 0% |
| Mexico | 8% |
| Japan | -3% |
| People’s Republic of China | 33% |
| Brazil | 2% |
| United Kingdom | 3% |
| South Korea | 10% |
| Germany | 4% |
| Australia | 3% |
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Tags: china, skiftstats, usa
Photo credit: A generic blue passport control sign at an airport. Getty Images