International Visitors Spent $8.2 Billion in January 2022

Data recently released by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) show that in January 2022:

• International visitors spent $8.2 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States, an increase of 63 percent compared to January 2021.
• Americans spent more than $7.5 billion traveling abroad, yielding a balance of trade surplus of $721 million for the month—the third consecutive month during which the United States enjoyed a balance of trade surplus for travel and tourism.
• Travel exports of $8.2 billion in January 2022 were lower than $10.4 billion in December 2021 and $9.6 billion in November 2021 but higher than $7.1 billion in October 2021.

Composition of Monthly Spending (Travel Exports)

• Travel Receipts 
  • Purchases of travel and tourism-related goods and services by international visitors traveling in the United States totaled $3.5 billion in January 2022 (compared to $1.1 billion in January 2021), an increase of nearly 207 percent when compared to the previous year.
  • For a pre-pandemic perspective, travel receipts totaled $11.7 billion in January 2019. These goods and services include food, lodging, recreation, gifts, entertainment, local transportation in the United States, and other items incidental to foreign travel.
  • Travel receipts accounted for 42 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports in January 2022.
• Passenger Fare Receipts
  • Fares received by U.S. carriers from international visitors totaled nearly $1.4 billion in January 2022 (compared to $690 million in January 2021), an increase of more than 101 percent when compared to the previous year.
  • For a pre-pandemic perspective, the United States exported nearly $3.3 billion in passenger air transportation services in January 2019. These receipts are expenditures by foreign residents on international flights of U.S. air carriers.
  • Passenger fare receipts accounted for 17 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports in January 2022.
• Medical/Education/Short-Term Worker Spending
  • Expenditures for educational and health-related tourism, along with all expenditures by border, seasonal, and other short-term workers in the United States totaled nearly $3.4 billion in January 2022 (compared to $3.2 billion in January 2021), an increase of more than 4 percent when compared to the previous year.
  • For a pre-pandemic perspective, this spending totaled $4.8 billion in January 2019.
  • Medical tourism, education, and short-term worker expenditures accounted for 41 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports in January 2022.

Interested in an interactive data visualization of these statistics? Please visit our Monthly Travel Trade Monitor for a more comprehensive and customizable experience!