International Visitors Spend $15.8 Billion in January 2014

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today announced that international visitors to the United States spent $15.8 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States in January 2014. Travel and tourism-related exports averaged nearly $510 million a day during the month. 

“Now more than ever, there is a growing interest in visiting the United States. Last year, nearly 70 million visitors came here – a new all-time record,” said Secretary Pritzker. “The Commerce Department is committed to continuing efforts to accelerate and maximize the powerful impact of America’s travel and tourism industry.” 

Travel and tourism exports consist of Travel Receipts and Passenger Fare Receipts*: 

• Travel Receipts: Purchases of travel and tourism-related goods and services by international visitors traveling in the United States totaled $12.2 billion during January, an increase of nearly 8 percent when compared to last year. These goods and services include food, lodging, recreation, gifts, entertainment, local transportation in the United States, and other items incidental to foreign travel. 
• Passenger Fare Receipts: Fares received by U.S. carriers (and U.S. vessel operators) from international visitors totaled $3.6 billion for the month, an increase of more than 4 percent when compared to January 2013.

Last month, Secretary Pritzker announced that international visitors spent a record-breaking $180.7 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services in 2013, an increase of more than 9 percent compared to 2012. 

In 2012, President Obama launched the National Travel and Tourism Strategy, which set a goal of drawing 100 million international visitors by 2021. The strategy is expected to generate $250 billion in visitor spending annually. 

To learn more about U.S. efforts to support the travel and tourism industry, visit http://travel.trade.gov. 

*Data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis