In a record-setting trend, international tourists have dramatically excited their expenditure while visiting the United States in June 2023. As per the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO), the latest figures reveal a robust 25% increase in spending compared to last year.
Last month, international visitors spent an eye-watering $17.4 billion in the U.S., encompassing travel costs and other tourism-related activities. This significant surge is juxtaposed against the nearly $17.0 billion Americans used up travelling overseas, resulting in a favourable trade surplus of $404 million for the United States. It marks the third consecutive month of trade surplus from travel and tourism-related goods and services.
A Deeper Dive Into the Year-to-date Figures
The accumulative data for the year paints an equally rosy picture. Between January and June 2023, international tourists contributed more than $102.1 billion to U.S. coffers from tourism-related activities. This represents a staggering rise of nearly 38% compared to 2022. Daily, this translates to a boost of over $564 million to the U.S. economy.
Breaking Down the Numbers
When assessing the components of these expenditures:
- Travel Spending: A substantial portion comes from the direct spending on goods and services by international tourists. In June alone, they expended $9.6 billion, up from $7.2 billion in 2022 — a 33% year-on-year growth. This category, which involves expenses like food, lodging, recreation, gifts, local U.S. transportation, and entertainment, formed 55% of the total U.S. travel and tourism earnings for June.
- Passenger Fare Receipts: U.S. carriers also felt the windfall. Fares from international visitors, reflecting expenses on international flights run by U.S. air carriers, touched $3.0 billion, marking a 22% ascent from June 2022’s $2.5 billion. Consequently, passenger fare receipts comprised 17% of June’s travel and tourism exports.
- Medical, Education, and Short-Term Worker Spending: A segment that cannot be ignored in education and health-related tourism expenditures. Alongside the spending by the border, seasonal, and other short-term workers, June 2023 witnessed total spending of $4.8 billion. Compared to June 2022’s $4.2 billion, this shows a growth of 12%. Furthermore, these sectors constituted 27% of total U.S. tourism exports in the said month.
Concluding Remarks
These figures highlight the buoyancy of the U.S. tourism sector and signify international travellers’ confidence in the country’s ability to offer a safe and enriching travel experience. As the world continues to emerge from the shadows of the pandemic, such positive trends in the travel and tourism sectors play a crucial role in stabilizing global economies.
For more information on these statistics and trends, visit the official National Travel and Tourism Office website.
Written By: Matthew Thomas
