In the world of global travel, the United States marked an impressive milestone in March 2023. A monumental surge was reported in international visitor arrivals and American outbound departures. This data was unveiled by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO), painting an optimistic picture of the tourism industry that had faced unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Figures indicate that the total international visitor volume to the United States was an impressive 5,221,211, showing a robust increase of 62.3% compared to March 2022. Even more noteworthy, this figure signifies 83.4% of the pre-pandemic visitor volume noted in March 2019. It outpaced the prior month’s recovery of 80.8%, signalling a steady progression towards fully reviving international tourism.

For the year to date ending in March, the total international visitation saw a leap of 77.3% compared to the first quarter of 2022, representing 82.1% of the pre-COVID visitor volume during the same period in 2019. These figures also show that March 2023 was the 24th consecutive month marking a year-over-year (YOY) growth in international arrivals.

However, it wasn’t all sunshine in the data. Colombia, out of the top 20 tourist-generating countries, reported a decrease of 5% in visitor volume compared to March 2022. However, the vast majority of countries, including Canada (2,093,041), Mexico (970,564), the United Kingdom (300,896), Germany (144,399), and Japan (112,269), exhibited an increase in arrivals. Collectively, these five nations accounted for 69.4% of the total international arrivals.

Moving onto U.S. citizen outbound departures, the United States marked a significant increase. Outbound travel hit 7,796,152, a 34.0% rise compared to the same time in 2022, reaching 93.1% of the pre-pandemic levels recorded in March 2019.

The YTD total U.S. citizen international departures from the United States were tallied at 20,359,127. This figure marked a staggering YOY increase of 45.0%, indicating a robust rebound from the American travel post-pandemic slump. Mexico was the leading destination, accounting for 43.2% of the YTD departures.

Mexico and the Caribbean formed 56.3% of total U.S. citizen international visitor departures, while Europe emerged as the second largest market, registering 1,404,010 departures. This accounted for 18.0% of all departures in March, increasing 71.2% compared to the previous year’s time.

In conclusion, the substantial growth in inbound and outbound international travel reported by the NTTO signifies an encouraging trend. It marks a critical return towards pre-pandemic levels and forecasts a bright future for international tourism, an industry vital for global connectivity and economic development.

Written by: Matthew Thomas

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