Outbound travel numbers are rapidly recovering as Americans travel outside the U.S. resulting in domestic travel waning from the pandemic boom.
That’s good news for inbound travel as destinations and suppliers will need international travelers to maintain their occupancy and visitation numbers. Many DMOs have been working to prepare their supplier constituents for rebuilding internaitonal travel business by hosting IITA’s Steps to Success travel trade training program to educate suppliers on how to build business the easy way – by working with inbound travel operators.
The National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) is releasing the results of the Outbound Survey of International Air Travelers (SIAT) covering calendar year 2022 as well as the first and second quarters of 2023. The Outbound SIAT measures the characteristics and destinations of U.S. residents traveling outbound by air to international destinations.
Highlights of SIAT Results
2022: U.S. outbound travelers reached 80.7 million; Mexico (33.5 million) was the largest destination while the United Kingdom (3.7 million) was the largest overseas destination
Q2 2023: Outbound air travelers to overseas countries of 14 million were +8.9% compared to the second quarter of 2019
International Outbound Travelers From the United States in 2022
- Total (Overseas, Canada, and Mexico) U.S. outbound travelers rebounded to 80.7 million in 2022, up 64% over 2021 and nearly 81% of the record U.S. outbound travel in 2019 when it reached 99.7 million.
- Mexico, the largest outbound market (33.5 million), increased 17% from 2021 and attained 84% of its 2019 level.
- Canada, with a significant but smaller base (9.1 million), increased 334% from 2021, but had only achieved 61% of its 2019 level.
- Overseas countries (38.1 million) increased 109% from 2021, and reached
- 85% of its 2019 level.
- Top overseas countries visited were the United Kingdom (3.7 million), France (3.1 million), the Dominican Republic (2.7 million), Italy (2.6 million), and Germany/Spain (both 2.0 million).
International Outbound Air Travelers From the United States in Q2 2023
- Total (Overseas, Canada, and Mexico) U.S. outbound air travelers were 18.7 million in the second quarter of 2023.
- U.S. outbound air travelers to overseas countries of 13.9 million were +8.9% compared to the second quarter of 2019.
- Top overseas countries visited were the United Kingdom (1.6 million, +25% compared to Q2 2019), Italy (1.5 million, +35%), France (1.3 million, +22%), the Dominican Republic (993,000, +14%), and Spain (867,000, +18%).