The U.S. dropped its COVID-19 testing requirement for international travelers in June, and data now shows inbound travel returning to the U.S., though spending by those travelers still lags.
New research from the World Travel & Tourism Council also shows U.S. outbound flight bookings to international destinations have reached near pre-pandemic levels.
Inbound bookings were up 93% in the past six weeks compared to the same time last year, but international spending in the U.S. is not expected to reach pre-pandemic levels until 2025, according to the data by WTTC and ForwardKeys.
International visitor spending in the U.S. was $40.3 billion in 2021, which represented 1.4% growth over spending in 2020, but is still far short of 2019’s total of $190.9 billion in spending.
Destination and Source Market Highlights
International travelers to the U.S. are headed to the usual destinations, according to WTTC data, including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami and Orlando.
This summer, inbound flight bookings to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, have grown 7% from mid-June to mid-July.
International travelers arriving in the United States primarily are coming from Canada, Germany, France and Brazil, according to the WTTC. This summer, more travelers also are originating in Chile and Japan.
WTTC’s research shows U.S. travel outbound to other countries is only 5% short of 2019 levels. Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the U.K. and Italy top the list of destinations where U.S. travelers are headed. Since June, outbound travel to the Philippines has grown by 8%.