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June 26, 2017 

INTERNATIONAL VISITATION DOWN MARGINALLY IN OCTOBER 2016^(P)

The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced that 6.6 million international visitors⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ traveled to the United States in October 2016, down slightly (-4,955 visits) from October 2015.

In October 2016 the top inbound markets continued to be Canada and Mexico. Non-resident visits from Canada grew 6.3 percent while visits from Mexico decreased 0.4 percent. The United Kingdom (-13.2%), Japan (-6.2%), and the People’s Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong) (+35.3%) rounded out the top five. Four of the top inbound overseas regional markets⁽³⁾ posted increases in non-resident visits in October 2016, with Western Europe, South America, Oceania, the Caribbean, and Africa posting declines.

For the first 10 months of 2016, international visits (63.9 million) were down two percent

(-1.8%) when compared to the same period in 2015.

HIGHLIGHTS

Top 10 Countries

• In October 2016 three of the top 10 countries posted increases in non-resident visits.
• During the first 10 months of 2016, three of the top 10 countries (sort based on October 2016) posted increases in non-resident visits to the United States.

Non-Resident Visits from Overseas⁽⁴⁾ Countries

• In October 2016 non-resident visits from overseas countries (3.4 million) were down three percent over October 2015, accounting for 52 percent of total international visits to the United States.
• During the first 10 months of 2016, non-resident visits from overseas countries (31.9 million) were down two percent compared to the same period of 2015, accounting for 50 percent of total international visits.

Top Ports: Year to Date October 2016

• Visitation through the top 15 ports of entry accounted for 84.9 percent of all overseas visits, slightly higher than last year.
• The top three ports (New York JFK, Miami, and Los Angeles) accounted for 41.0 percent of all overseas arrivals, the same as last year.
• Seven of the top 15 ports posted single-digit increases in arrivals.

Pleasure Travel vs. Business Travel: Year to Date October 2016

• Of the top 20 overseas countries with visits to the United States, more than 90 percent of the visits recorded from Argentina (93.9%), Venezuela (90.7%), and Ecuador (94.6%) represented pleasure travel to the United States. On the contrary, 20 percent or more of the visits recorded from Germany (21.7%), India (20.0%), and the Netherlands (22.9%) represented business travel to the United States.
• Of all overseas non-resident visits to the United States, 81.9 percent represented pleasure travel and 13.9 percent represented business travel.

Access to National Travel and Tourism Office Monthly Arrivals Data

To access international travel and tourism statistics from the U.S. Travel and Tourism Statistical System, visit the National Travel and Tourism Office I-94 monthly arrivals page at https://travel.trade.gov/view/m-2016-I-001/index.asp

^(P) = 2016 I-94 arrivals data are preliminary with these data subject to revisions.

⁽¹⁾2016^(P) I-94 arrivals data are official, but subject to further revision, if warranted (see ‘Special Note’ this month). Situations that allow for revision include improved solutions and/or sources discovered by the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security as they complete the automation and migration of records.

⁽²⁾2014, 2015 and 2016 data sets are based on the same criteria, including the same visitor visa types and the ‘one night or more’ definition of a traveler. In addition, the methodology for identifying travelers with respect to Country of Residence (COR), and infilling records with missing COR data, is consistent for the three years. The years differ only in that 2015 contained more I-94 records as a result of automating the paper I-94 forms.  Therefore, 2014, 2015, and 2016 arrivals data are arguably more comprehensive and credible than previous years.

⁽³⁾The nine major overseas regions are: Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Oceania, South America, Central America and the Caribbean.

⁽⁴⁾Overseas includes all countries except Canada and Mexico.

Source

U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, National Travel and Tourism Office as well as Statistics Canada’s International Travel Survey and Banco de Mexico travel data.