Skift Take

It turns out more Americans than ever flew to Europe and Mexico last year despite security fears.

Undaunted by global security concerns, international travel by U.S. citizens reached a record high in 2015, according to the National Travel & Tourism Office (NTTO).

Travel to Europe, the Caribbean and Asia was most popular outside of North America, while travel to the Middle East saw the greatest year-over-year increase in popularity.

Inside North America, travel to Mexico far exceeded travel to Canada by both air and ground transportation.

Africa was the only region to see negative growth, with travel dropping 2.1 percent over the year. Check out the chart below for further details.

Regions TOTAL 2015 Travelers % CHANGE YOY Market Share
Europe 12,598,860 5.9% 17.2%
Caribbean 7,648,197 6.6% 10.4%
Asia 4,842,660 7.4% 6.6%
South America 1,869,463 5.5% 2.5%
Central America 2,790,865 3.5% 3.8%
Oceania 643,485 7.0% 0.9%
Middle East 2,045,251 14.9% 2.8%
Africa 350,572 -2.1% 0.5%
Total Overseas (2) 32,789,353 6.5% 44.6%
Mexico (Total) (3)(P) 28,195,381 8.9% 38.4%
Mexico (Air) (2) 7,993,665 15.3% (6)
Canada (Total) (4) 12,468,380 8.3% 17.0%
Canada (Air) (4) 3,633,045 6.5% (6)
North America 40,663,761 8.7% 55.4%
Grand Total 73,453,114 7.7% 100.0%
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Tags: africa, europe, international air traffic

Photo credit: Flyers in Chicago. Anne Worner / Flickr

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