International Visitors Spent $17.3 Billion on US Travel in April

In April 2023 international visitors spent more than $17.3 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States.

Data recently released by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) show that in April 2023 international visitors spent more than $17.3 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States, an increase of nearly 26 percent compared to April 2022 and marking the twenty-fifth consecutive month of year-over-year gains (when compared to the same month, previous year).

Conversely, Americans spent a record-setting $17.2 billion traveling abroad, yielding a balance of trade surplus of $83 million for the month—reversing a trend of seven consecutive months of balance of trade deficits for U.S. travel and tourism.

Revised data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (monthly trade data were revised back to 2018) suggest that international visitors have spent nearly $67.2 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services year to date (January through April 2023), an increase of more than 45 percent when compared to 2022. International visitors have injected, on average, nearly $560 million a day into the U.S. economy year to date.

Composition of Monthly Spending (Travel Exports)

• Travel Spending

• Purchases of travel and tourism-related goods and services by international visitors traveling in the United States totaled $9.7 billion during April 2023 (compared to $7.2 billion in April 2022), an increase of nearly 35 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.

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

• Passenger Fare Receipts

• Fares received by U.S. carriers from international visitors totaled $3.1 billion in April 2023 (compared to $2.4 billion in the previous year), up 31 percent when compared to April 2022. These receipts represent expenditures by foreign residents on international flights provided by U.S. air carriers.

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

• Medical/Education/Short-Term Worker Spending

• Expenditures for educational and health-related tourism, along with all expenditures by border, seasonal, and other short-term workers in the United States totaled $4.6 billion in April 2023 (compared to $4.2 billion in April 2022), an increase of 8 percent when compared to the previous year.

• Medical tourism, education, and short-term worker expenditures accounted for 26 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports in April 2023.