Foreign Visitors Spent $16.9 Billion in US in February 2023

International visitors spent nearly $16.9 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States, in February 2023

According to the latest data released by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO), international visitors spent nearly $16.9 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States, in February 2023 – an increase of 64 percent compared to February 2022 and marking the twenty-third consecutive month of year-over-year gains (when compared to the same month, previous year).

Conversely, Americans spent a record-setting $17.4 billion traveling abroad, yielding a balance of trade deficit of more than $480 million for the month. Prior to July 2021 the United States never recorded a monthly trade deficit for travel and tourism; since then, however, the United States has run a total travel and tourism-related trade deficit (imports exceeding exports) for ten of the last twenty months (50% of the time).

Preliminary data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis suggest that international visitors spent nearly $32.3 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services year to date (January through the end of February 2023), an increase of more than 67.4% when compared to the amount spent in 2022; international visitors have injected, on average, nearly $547 million a day into the U.S. economy year to date.

Composition of Monthly Spending (Travel Exports)

• Travel Spending

o Purchases of travel and tourism-related goods and services by international visitors traveling in the United States totaled $9.5 billion during February 2023 (compared to $4.8 billion in February 2022), an increase of 97 percent when compared to the previous year. These goods and services include food, lodging, recreation, gifts, entertainment, local transportation in the United States, and other items incidental to foreign travel.

o Travel receipts accounted for 56 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports in February 2023.

• Passenger Fare Receipts

o Fares received by U.S. carriers from international visitors totaled $3.1 billion in February 2023 (compared to $1.6 billion in February 2022), double (up 100.1%) the amount spent last year during the month. These receipts represent expenditures by foreign residents on international flights provided by U.S. air carriers.

o Passenger fare receipts accounted for 18 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports in February 2023.

• Medical/Education/Short-Term Worker Spending

o Expenditures for educational and health-related tourism, along with all expenditures by border, seasonal, and other short-term workers in the United States totaled $4.3 billion in February 2023 (compared to $3.9 billion in February 2022), an increase of 9 percent when compared to the previous year.

o Medical tourism, education, and short-term worker expenditures accounted for 25 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports in February 2023.