News of a so-called Trump Bump for the U.S. travel industry may be overhyped, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The National Travel & Tourism Office found that 2016 international visitor arrivals decreased by 2 percent compared to 2015, with 75.6 million coming to the U.S. for both business and leisure. This marks the first decline since 2009. In 2015, visitation increased by 3 percent.
The Commerce Department initially released this visitor data several weeks ago but on Friday supplemented with spending statistics: International visitor spending dipped slightly, by 1 percent, to $244.7 billion across the U.S.
China, Mexico, India, and South Korea all increased visitation to the U.S. and spending while in the country. The U.S. experienced steep declines in both visitation and spending from Canada, Brazil, and Germany.
Canada, Mexico, and the UK still sent the most visitors to the U.S. in 2016, despite the decline. Travel from China to the U.S. increased 15 percent, to three million total visitors who spent $33 billion, the most of any visiting nationality.
Data so far from 2017 shows record visitor spending, perhaps the result of a slightly weaker U.S. dollar.
Check out the full results from 2016 below.
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