The latest data from travel insurance marketplace Squaremouth paints a complex picture of U.S. tourism recovery: while international visitor numbers have finally eclipsed pre-pandemic levels, their spending power hasn’t caught up.
For travel advisors, this discrepancy signals a shift in inbound client behavior. The “revenge travel” spending spree may be settling into a more budget-conscious reality, forcing agents to get creative with value-driven itineraries for international clients.
By the Numbers
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$20 billion gap: International visitor spending hit $190 billion in 2024 — a significant jump from the previous year, yet still well below the $210 billion recorded in 2019.
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90%: The massive portion of U.S. tourism driven by domestic travelers. Americans took roughly 720 million domestic trips compared to 85.2 million international arrivals.
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48%: Nearly half of all international visitors hail from just two borders: Canada (20.2 million) and Mexico (17 million). The UK remains the top overseas market but trails significantly at just 4 million visitors.
The Big Picture
The U.S. remains a high-cost destination. The gap between record-breaking arrival numbers and lower total spending suggests international tourists are likely shortening trips, choosing lower-tier accommodations, or cutting back on ancillary spending to offset high costs in major hubs like New York and San Francisco.
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Shopping is King: Despite budget constraints, shopping remains the #1 activity for international guests (81%), outpacing even sightseeing (75%) and national parks (32%).
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Summer Strain: Advisors should warn clients about mid-summer travel. While August is the peak month for international arrivals, July brings the most operational headaches, with a flight disruption rate of 30.2%.
The bottom line: Domestic travel continues to do the heavy lifting for the U.S. travel economy (contributing $839 billion), but the full financial recovery of the lucrative inbound market is still a work in progress.
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