U.S. Outbound Tourism Snapshot for October 2016

Some 2.5 million U.S. citizens traveled abroad in October, up four percent over October 2015, according to monthly statistics released this week by the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office.

This brings U.S. citizen overseas travel to 29.6 million in the first 10 months of the year, up seven percent for the year (this excludes travel to Mexico and Canada).

Every month, the National Travel and Tourism Office 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 September, travel to overseas locations accounted for 44 percent of U.S. outbound international travel while 56 percent went no farther than Canada or Mexico.

Europe and the Caribbean remained the most popular destinations throughout September, capturing 28 percent of all travel.

The greatest growth among overseas markets year-over-year was in Oceania, up 11 percent with about 56,000 travelers in September. Europe attracted the highest number of U.S. travelers -- more than 1 million -- while Asia had the second highest number (488,000), up 10 percent year-over-year and was followed by the Caribbean, which was up five percent to nearly 452,000 travelers in October.

U.S. travel to border nations of Mexico and Canada increased 15 percent compared to October 2015 with the most growth in Mexico. U.S. travel to Mexico increased about 17 percent to 2.5 million travelers for October. American visits to Canada increased 11 percent to one million travelers.

Including Mexico and Canada, six million U.S. travelers took international trips in October for about 67 million outbound trips year-to-date.

The full statistics can be found below:

Number of U.S. Travelers Visiting International Destinations in October 2016

October 2016 Market Share By Destination for Outbound U.S. Travelers

Source: U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office