Report: NY State Sees 9.1 Million International Tourists Last Year, Most in U.S.

Luxury Link, an online booking platform specializing in luxury travel, has just released a new report about the top U.S. locations visited by international travelers. I thought the report might be interesting to your readers.

International summer travel plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic due to travel bans, distancing guidelines, and event cancellations. And although travel to several top international destinations—such as France, Spain, Greece, and the UAE—either fully or nearly recovered in 2023 compared to 2019 levels, travel to the U.S. lags behind. Fortunately, after several summers of reduced activity, international travel is expected to fully recover in 2024.

Despite the slowdown, the U.S. remains a popular destination for international travelers, with some locations seeing more than others. Researchers calculated the total number of overseas visitors to each location in 2023, excluding inbound visitors from Canada and Mexico, and ranked states accordingly.

These are the main takeaways from the report, highlighting some key stats for New York State:

• An estimated 31 million visitors came to the U.S. in 2023 from overseas regions, down from 40 million in 2019. This decline has resulted in a slight drop in the U.S. share of the total global tourism market, from 5.4% to 5.3%.
• In 2023, international tourism generated over $230 billion in exports (adjusted to 2024 dollars), accounting for approximately 22% of all U.S. services exports globally.
• Once in the U.S., the most popular activity for international tourists is shopping, with nearly 25.8 million visitors (82%) engaging in it. Sightseeing is a close second, with almost 24.3 million tourists (77.2%) participating.
• Last year, New York State attracted 9,076,000 overseas travelers—the most of any U.S. state.