International Air Travel to the U.S. Growing, Says NTTO

The National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) recently published inbound travel data, including results of the Survey of International Air Travelers (SIAT) for the third quarter of 2024 and January’s air traffic report from its Advance Passenger Information System (APIS/I-92) study.

Since 1983, SIAT has been gathering statistical data about air passenger travelers in U.S. - Overseas, U.S. - Canadian, and U.S. - Mexican markets. Survey data provides information on passenger trip planning, travel patterns, demographics, and spending for two separate populations – non-U.S. residents traveling to the U.S. and U.S. residents traveling from the U.S.

The APIS/I-92 provides information on non-stop international air traffic between the United States and other countries. The data has been collected from the Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection since 2010.

International Inbound Air Arrivals in the Third Quarter of 2024

• There were 13 million international air visitor-arrivals to the United States (2.0 million from Canada, 950,000 from Mexico, and 10.1 million from overseas), an increase of 5.5 percent from the third quarter of 2023.
• The top overseas source markets for international air visitor-arrivals were the United Kingdom (1,163,000), India (620,000), Germany (607,000), Japan (559,000), and China (550,000). Together, these top 5 source markets accounted for 35 percent of total overseas visitation.  
• The top U.S. states visited by international air arrivals were New York (3.2 million), Florida (3.1 million), California (2.7 million), Nevada (1.2 million), and Texas (894,000).
• The primary purpose of international visitors was Vacation/Holiday (60%), followed by Visit Friends and Relatives (23%), and Business (13%).
• The top leisure activities were Shopping (83%), Sightseeing (77%), National Parks/Monuments (36%), Small Towns/Countryside (32%), and Amusement/Theme Parks (31%).

The number of U.S. residents departing to international destinations - 19.3 million - increased 6.7 from the third quarter of 2023, resulting in a continued travel trade deficit.

In January 2025, according to APIS/I-92, air passenger enplanements were Up 4.6 percent year over year and air travel between the U.S. and Europe was also Up 4.6 percent.

U.S.-international air traffic passenger enplanements totaled 21.490 million, with enplanements reaching 108.1 percent of pre-pandemic January 2019 volume. 

Non-U.S. citizen air passenger arrivals from foreign countries totaled 4.8 million in January, up 1.7 percent compared to January 2024 and 91.9 percent of pre-pandemic January 2019 volume.

On a related note, overseas visitor arrivals totaled 2.5 million in January 2025, which reached 87 percent of pre-pandemic January 2019 volume, down from 93.2 percent in December 2024.

U.S. citizen air passenger departures to foreign countries totaled 4.97 million, up 6.7 percent compared to January 2024, exceeding January 2019 volume by 25.2 percent.