International travel to the U.S. falls in December, full year 2016

International travel to the United States fell by 5% in December 2016, reports the U.S. Department of Commerce in its latest analysis from the National Travel and Tourism Office.

Six million international visitors traveled to the U.S. last December, down slightly (-294,733 visitors) from December 2015.

In December 2016 the top inbound markets continued to be Canada and Mexico. Non-resident visits from Canada grew 0.5 percent while visits from Mexico decreased 9.6%. The United Kingdom (-5.8%), Japan (-4.4%), and the People’s Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong) (+13.9%) rounded out the top five.

Only one of the top inbound overseas regional markets(1) – Asia – posted increases in non-resident visits in December 2016, with Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East, South America, Central America, Oceania, the Caribbean, and Africa all posting declines.

For the calendar year 2016, international visits (75.6 million) were down -2.4% when compared to the same period in 2015.

 

Top 10 Countries

In December 2016 four of the top 10 countries generating travel to the United States posted increases in non-resident visits.

During the calendar year 2016, three of the top 10 countries (based upon the annual 2016 totals) posted increases in non-resident visits to the United States.

 

(1)The nine major overseas regions are: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Oceania, South America, Central America and the Caribbean.

 

Top 10 Countries (Based on YTD December 2016)
 

 

Country of Residence

% Change December

2016 vs. 2015

% Change

YTD December

2016 vs. 2015

Canada 0.5 -7
Mexico -10 2
United Kingdom -6 -7
Japan -4 -5
People’s Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong) 14 15
Germany -5 -10
South Korea 10 12
Brazil -24 -24
France 5 -7
Australia -6 -7