Travel Trade Operators Contribute $52 Billion in Travel Spending

IITA has been seeking data that would show the impact inbound operators and the international travel trade have on U.S. travel exports, in numbers of visitors, travel spending and jobs creation as the organization works to establish the reappreciation for the travel trade. Whether speaking to government and industry leaders or supplier and destination partners, IITA and inbound operators must demonstrate the value of travel trade distribution.

In response to IITA’s request for the travel trade data, the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) presented the following report last week on the impact of the inbound international visitors to the United States engaged with travel trade operators (inbound operators, international tour operators, travel agents, and other travel buyers, etc.). 

The inbound international visitors include total overseas visitors, Canadian and Mexican air travelers to the United States (Canadian and Mexican visitors by land are not included). The impact estimates include number of visitors, travel spending in the United States, as well as the U.S. jobs supported by the spending. 

Total International Inbound Visitors (total overseas, Canadian and Mexican air travelers)

According to NTTO’s estimate, travel trade operators facilitated and contributed to about a quarter of the total impact of international visitors travel to the United States in 2023, including:

• 10.3 million visitors (23 percent of the total), up 35 percent from the previous year
• $52.8 billion in travel spending (26 percent of the total), up 42 percent from the previous year
• Supported 387,000 U.S. jobs (25 percent of the total), up 28 percent from the previous year
   

To measure the recovery of travel trade operators-engaged international visitation to the U.S. following the decline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, estimates have also been made to establish a 2019 baseline.  As of 2023, total international visitors engaged with tour operators and travel agents have rebounded to 70 percent of the pre-pandemic 2019 level, while the travel spending in the U.S. has risen to nearly 83 percent of its pre-pandemic level.

Overseas Inbound Visitors

Overseas visitors constituted a major proportion of the impact of total international visitors facilitated by travel trade operators. Travel trade operators facilitated and contributed higher proportions of overseas visitors to the U.S., compared to the proportion facilitated for Canadian and Mexican air travelers.  In 2023, travel trade operators supported:

• 8.6 million visitors (27 percent of total overseas arrivals), up 37 percent from the previous year
• $49.9 billion in travel spending (28 percent of the total), up 44 percent from the previous year
• 358,100 U.S. jobs (26 percent of the total), up 29 percent from the previous year

Overseas visitors to the United States facilitated by travel trade operators in 2023 rebounded to 65 percent of the pre-pandemic 2019 level, while the travel spending in the U.S. achieved nearly 82 percent of its pre-pandemic level.

Data and definitions

The measurements of visitor arrivals and characteristics are derived through NTTO’s ADIS I-94 International Visitor Arrivals Program and the Survey of International Air Travelers (SIAT). BEA’s Industry Economic Accounts and International Trade in Goods and Services statistics are used in the estimates of visitors’ spending and jobs supported.  

International visitors engaged with tour operators and travel agents are defined as:

• Visitors who used package tours for a U.S. trip.
• Visitors who did not use a package tour to visit the United States but booked airline reservations through tour operators/travel agents, including visitors who also booked hotel/lodging before they left their home countries through tour operator/travel agents.