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Travel slowed in October as leisure trips came to an end; however, year-over-year growth exceeded previous months suggesting more consistent travel patterns emerging after the recession.

Some 2.2 million U.S. citizens traveled abroad in October 2014, up five percent over October 2013, according to monthly statistics released this week by the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office.

This brings U.S. citizen international travel to 57.1 million in the first nine months of the year, up six percent for the year.

Every month, the NTTO releases data regarding recent travel activity, including details about outbound travel from the United States. This is the most recent month for which this information is available.

Through October, travel to overseas locations accounted for 46 percent of U.S. outbound international travel while a slightly higher percentage, 54 percent, went no farther than Canada or Mexico.

Europe and the Caribbean remain the most popular destinations throughout September capturing a total 29 percent of all travel.

The greatest growth among overseas markets year-over-year was seen in the Middle East, up 10 percent, to 134,000 travelers in October, and the Caribbean, up 10 percent to 437,000 travelers that month.

U.S. travel to border nations of Mexico and Canada increased 19 percent compared to October 2013 with the most growth seen in Mexico. American visits to Mexico increased 25 percent to 1.9 million travelers, but only increased seven percent in Canada to 905,000 travelers.

The full statistics can be found below:

Regions Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Total YTD % Change YTD YTD Market Share
Europe 577,691 497,003 806,663 868,367 1,305,842 1,614,486 1,413,798 1,185,907 1,241,537 915,090 10,426,384 4.7% 18.3%
Caribbean 498,620 550,203 705,211 629,774 624,280 742,860 821,650 629,224 347,244 436,791 5,985,857 9.9% 10.5%
Asia 376,296 312,814 397,296 381,817 379,197 424,155 397,960 342,239 338,630 397,721 3,748,125 4.7% 6.6%
South America 127,749 137,612 154,680 123,068 144,464 208,023 167,627 143,609 112,581 123,729 1,443,142 2.4% 2.5%
Central America 219,192 225,540 283,108 213,929 209,012 301,095 308,557 206,176 121,158 145,848 2,233,615 9.2% 3.9%
Oceania 51,774 62,658 60,097 41,314 46,359 45,003 48,892 39,913 38,013 46,573 480,596 5.2% 0.8%
Middle East 140,179 119,192 140,706 141,744 162,244 180,874 148,098 145,620 133,173 134,341 1,446,171 10.6% 2.5%
Africa 23,982 21,066 27,950 27,596 36,044 40,542 40,732 34,231 29,205 25,974 307,322 2% 0.5%
Total Overseas 2,015,483 1,926,088 2,575,711 2,427,609 2,907,442 3,557,038 3,347,314 2,726,919 2,361,541 2,226,067 26,071,212 6.4% 45.6%
Mexico 1,962,616 1,932,875 2,260,427 2,036,762 1,960,747 2,183,275 2,325,094 2,149,457 1,613,564 1,892,281 20,317,097 19.8% 35.6%
Canada 476,583 509,976 585,887 713,435 1,070,319 1,509,984 1,902,171 1,940,471 1,121,073 904,533 10,734,432 0.9% 18.8%
North America 2,439,199 2,442,851 2,846,314 2,750,197 3,031,066 3,693,259 4,227,265 4,089,928 2,734,637 2,796,814 31,051,529 12.5% 54.4%
Grand Total 4,454,682 4,368,939 5,422,025 5,177,806 5,938,508 7,250,297 7,574,579 6,816,847 5,096,178 5,022,881 57,122,741 9.6% 100%
Monthly % Chg(1) 7.60% 9.30% 6.70% 16.70% 14.50% 10.40% 10.50% 6.30% 7.30% 12.40%
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Tags: skiftstats, tourism, usa

Photo credit: Inside Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on September 21, 2009. Dennis Jarvis / Flickr

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