The United States might have its share of….problems….right now. But overall, we’re still a country that gets a whole lot of foreign visitors. In fact, according to WorldStatistics.net, in 2023, the U.S. was the 3rd most visited country in the world. Here’s a list of the Top Ten:
- France: 100.1 million visitors in 2023
- Spain: 85.2 million visitors
- USA: 66.4 million visitors
- Italy: 57.3 million
- Türkiye: 55.2M
- Mexico: 42.2M
- United Kingdom: 37.2M
- China: 35.5M
- Germany: 34.8M
- Greece 32.9M
The U.S. Tourism Ranking Over the Years
For what it’s worth, we weren’t always #3. In fact, from 1996 until 2001, the United States was the 2nd most visited country in the world. We went back to #2 in 2008, but Spain knocked us back to #3 in 2017. The pandemic messed with everyone’s tourism numbers and in 2021, the U.S. was in 6th place, after being knocked down by Mexico, Italy, Spain and Türkeye. But by 2022, everyone’s numbers were rising again and we reached 3rd place again by early 2023 (France has held that #1 spot all along. C’est la vie).
Here’s how the numbers have changed over the years:
- France: 89.4 million visitors
- Spain: 83.7 million visitors
- United States: 79.3 million visitors
- China: 65.7 million
- Italy: 64.5M
- Turkey: 51.2M
- Mexico: 45M
- Thailand: 39.8M
- Germany: 39.6M
- United Kingdom: 39.4M
Interestingly, even though both France and Spain lost millions of visitors and the U.S. gained almost 13 million visitors in 2024, we were still just in 3rd place. Spain and, particularly, France, just had that much of a lead.
Tourism Recovery After the Pandemic
The pandemic, of course, decimated tourism around the world. But by January through September 2024, international tourist arrivals were up to 98% of 2019 levels. By late 2024, many places had finally surpassed their 2019 pre-pandemic numbers in terms of tourism. The Middle East, Africa and Europe felt that particularly strongly.
| Region | 2023 Arrivals | 2024 Arrivals |
|---|---|---|
| Middle East | 122% of 2019 levels | 29% above 2019 levels |
| Africa | 6% more than 2019 | 6% growth over 2019 |
| Europe | 94% of 2019 levels | 1% increase over 2019 |
The U.S. airports that processed the most international passports
When foreign visitors arrive in the U.S., the vast majority arrive by air. According to 24/7wallst.com, these are the airports that received the most foreign passport holders:
- Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Atlanta, GA 46 million
- Los Angeles International Airport, CA. 30 million
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport, IL. 29 million
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, TX. 25 million
- Miami International Airport, FL. 22 million
- John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY. 20 million
- Denver International Airport, CO. 18 million
- Orlando International Airport, FL. 14 million
- San Francisco International Airport, CA. 11 million
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, WA. 10 million
Not surprisingly, these correspond with the busiest airports in the country in 2023. 😉
Why Do Passport Counts Exceed Visitor Numbers?
You may have noticed that the total number of international passports far outweighs the number of foreign visitors that WorldStatistics.net said visited. That’s most likely due to:
- People flying into/out of the U.S., perhaps more than once (particularly business people, those with family members who live here, and students, although some visitors may be visiting the US more than once to see more of the country.)
- “International” passports can also include people with dual citizenship, green cards, etc.
In other words, those statistics didn’t include “just tourists/visitors.”
Anyway, those certainly were interesting numbers.
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