Tourism in the United States
the United States recorded a total of 80 million tourists in 2018, ranking 3rd in the world in absolute terms.The fact that larger countries regularly perform better in a comparison of the absolute number of guests is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of the United States, the result is much more comparable picture: With 0.24 tourists per resident, the United States ranked 122nd in the world. In North America, it ranked 3rd.
The United States generated around 256.15 billion US Dollar in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 1.2 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 92 percent of all international tourism receipts in North America.
A global comparison can be found here › International tourism
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Most popular destinations in the United States
No less than 6 cities in the United States are among the top 100 most popular destinations worldwide. In 2018 New York City reached the 8th place with 13.60 million tourists. According to Euromonitor all tourists with at least one overnight stay were counted.| City | Tourists | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | 13,600,000 | #8 |
| Miami | 8,121,300 | #27 |
| Las Vegas | 7,500,000 | #29 |
| Los Angeles | 6,591,300 | #34 |
| Orlando | 5,553,600 | #44 |
| San Francisco | 2,901,000 | #72 |
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2018 spent about 2,869 US Dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of the United States spend only around 1,800 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.
Development of the tourism sector in the United States from 1995 to 2018
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in the United States each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g. crew members of ships or flights are also not considered as tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.Data in the chart are given in millions of tourists. The red line represents the average of all 3 countries in North America.
Revenues in tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 93.74 billion USD, or about 1.2 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 43.32 million tourists at that time and roughly 2,164 USD per person. Within 23 years, the country's dependence on tourism has increased slightly. In the last year of the survey, the revenue now amounts to 256.15 billion USD, accounting for 1.2 percent of the gross national product. Each visitor now spends an average of 3,212 USD for his holiday in the United States.
All data for the United States in detail
| Year | Number of tourists | Receipts | % of GNP | Receipts per tourist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 43.32 m | 93.74 bn $ | 1.2 % | 2,164 $ |
| 1996 | 46.49 m | 102.20 bn $ | 1.3 % | 2,198 $ |
| 1997 | 47.77 m | 107.05 bn $ | 1.2 % | 2,241 $ |
| 1998 | 46.38 m | 105.10 bn $ | 1.2 % | 2,266 $ |
| 1999 | 48.51 m | 111.48 bn $ | 1.2 % | 2,298 $ |
| 2000 | 51.24 m | 120.91 bn $ | 1.2 % | 2,360 $ |
| 2001 | 46.93 m | 109.10 bn $ | 1.0 % | 2,325 $ |
| 2002 | 43.58 m | 104.43 bn $ | 0.95 % | 2,396 $ |
| 2003 | 41.22 m | 101.54 bn $ | 0.88 % | 2,463 $ |
| 2004 | 46.09 m | 115.69 bn $ | 0.94 % | 2,510 $ |
| 2005 | 49.21 m | 122.08 bn $ | 0.93 % | 2,481 $ |
| 2006 | 50.98 m | 126.78 bn $ | 0.92 % | 2,487 $ |
| 2007 | 56.14 m | 144.22 bn $ | 1.00 % | 2,569 $ |
| 2008 | 58.01 m | 164.72 bn $ | 1.1 % | 2,840 $ |
| 2009 | 55.10 m | 146.00 bn $ | 1.0 % | 2,650 $ |
| 2010 | 60.01 m | 168.00 bn $ | 1.1 % | 2,799 $ |
| 2011 | 63.48 m | 187.63 bn $ | 1.2 % | 2,956 $ |
| 2012 | 66.97 m | 201.00 bn $ | 1.2 % | 3,001 $ |
| 2013 | 71.64 m | 218.50 bn $ | 1.3 % | 3,050 $ |
| 2014 | 75.38 m | 235.99 bn $ | 1.3 % | 3,131 $ |
| 2015 | 77.77 m | 249.18 bn $ | 1.4 % | 3,204 $ |
| 2016 | 76.41 m | 245.99 bn $ | 1.3 % | 3,219 $ |
| 2017 | 77.19 m | 251.54 bn $ | 1.3 % | 3,259 $ |
| 2018 | 79.75 m | 256.15 bn $ | 1.2 % | 3,212 $ |
All data correspond to the information of the World Tourism Organization.
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