With most of the domestic and international travel restrictions from the 2020 pandemic lifted, Americans are now starting to plan their vacations again.
Below, we’ve organized over 100 statistics relating to US travel so that you can organize your dream vacation equipped with the most up-to-date travel information and gain an accurate sense of the US travel market, trends, and data, ensuring an unforgettable and hiccup-free trip.
Table Of Contents
- US Travel Statistics By Demographic
- Why Do Americans Travel?
- What Activities Do Americans Participate In While Traveling?
- What Methods Do Americans Use To Book Their Vacations?
- US Tourism And Travel Job Industry Statistics
- Travel Spending Statistics In The US And Abroad
- Inbound Tourism Statistics
- Outbound Tourism Statistics
- What Are The Most Popular Travel Destinations In The US?
US Travel Statistics By Demographic
1. Most American travelers abroad are women. Women make up 57% of American travelers[1].
2. American women are more likely to travel solo and plan three trips per year on average[1].
3. Men make up 43% of the American traveler population[1].
4. A large majority of American travelers are white. White Americans make up 65.9% of outbound travelers[1].
5. Latino travelers make up 12.9% of American travelers abroad[1].
6. Following Latino travelers, Asian travelers make up the next most racial demographic for American travelers. Nearly 10% of all American travelers are Asian[1].
7. Black Americans make up 7% of American travelers abroad[1].
8. Millennials make up the largest American tourist age demographic in terms of length of vacation. Millennials spend an average of 35 days per year traveling[2].
9. Millennials are also more likely to travel with friends. Out of the millennial demographic, 58% said that they prefer traveling with friends[2].
10. Baby Boomers are the age demographic with the 2nd longest vacations on average. Baby Boomers travel an average of 27 days per year[2].
11. Baby Boomers who say that a cruise vacation is their favorite type of vacation make up 30% of their age demographic[2].
12. Gen Xers are close behind Baby Boomers in terms of vacation length. Gen Xrs travel 26 days per year on average[2].
13. One out of every four American families plans a trip every year[2].
14. American families who travel during the summertime make up 80% of their demographic[2].
15. Only 42% of American families travel during the springtime[2].
16. There is virtually no difference in the amount an American has traveled based on political association, however, Americans who claim to “keep up to date with foreign affairs” travel more — approximately 64%[2].
Why Do Americans Travel?
17. For domestic trips, Americans prioritized leisure over business. In 2021, Americans took 466.2 million domestic trips for the purpose of business compared to 1,779.7 million trips for the purpose of leisure[2].
18. Americans also prioritized loved ones in their travels. Approximately 42% of US travelers said that they were visiting family or friends on their trip[2].
19. Traveling as a way of escaping “normal life and recharging mentally” was a reason 51% of Americans gave for traveling[2].
20. When it came to millennials, 43% said their reason for travel was to “find themselves[2].”
21. Approximately 23% of millennials said they wanted to “meet new people[2].”
22. Approximately 55% of Gen Z travelers say they traveled to increase their knowledge and experience in 2021[2].
23. Gen Z also wanted to unwind on vacation. In 2021, approximately 40% of Gen Z travelers said they traveled to avoid stress and relax[2].
24. While 95% of American families on vacation said that their priority for traveling was for their family to be happy and entertained, 85% still needed to plan around school holidays[2].
What Activities Do Americans Participate In While Travelling?
25. American families mainly prioritized outdoor activities — around 85%[2].
26. American families also prioritized theme parks on their travels. Approximately 73% of American families take their children to a theme park on vacation[2].
27. Many Americans are traveling to experience new cuisines. Approximately 35% of Americans said that they were “traveling to experience local delicacies[2].”
28. Approximately 65% of Americans seeking culture look for history or art museums[2].
29. Comparatively, 58% of Americans looked for aquariums while looking for cultural activities on vacation[2].
30. Approximately 56% of Americans on a cultural activities vacation seek science museums[2].
31. There was an 89% increase in Americans going on cruises in 2021[2].
32. There was a 64% increase in Americans going snorkeling in 2021[2].
33. Americans saw more sailing in 2021 with a 55% increase in sailing activities[2].
34. There was a 49% increase in kayaking or canoeing activities among Americans on vacation[2].
35. Approximately 15% of American travelers in 2021 booked a mindfulness or meditation retreat[2].
What Methods Do Americans Use To Book Their Vacations?
36. Americans, unsurprisingly cited using a smartphone as their primary method of planning their vacations — approximately 79% of Americans[2].
37. Approximately 65% of Americans book hotels the same day via smartphone[2].
38. Americans value cost over any other factor when it comes to booking arrangements[2].
39. Americans aged 18-24 valued positive or negative reviews as their second most deciding factor when it came to booking arrangements[2].
40. On average, Americans booked vacation arrangements between one to three months in advance[2].
41. However, American men on average booked two to four weeks in advance[2].
42. Around 30% of people booking hotels in America chose Booking.com[4].
43. Around 29% chose Hotels.com[4].
44. Around 28% chose Expedia.com[4].
45. Americans chose Airbnb 26% of the time when booking lodging online or through an app[4].
46. Around 26% of Americans booked their hotel reservations directly with the hotel website[4].
47. Southwest Airlines sees more passengers than any other airline in the US. Approximately 20% of US passengers used Southwest Airlines when traveling domestically[3].
US Tourism And Travel Job Industry Statistics
48. The travel and tourism GDP share grew to 2.15% in 2021[5].
49. The travel and tourism industry in America produced a real output of $362 billion in 2021[5].
50. The largest contributing commodity to the real output in the American travel and tourism industry are food and beverage and recreation, entertainment, and shopping – about 15.6% and 17.88% of the real output respectively[5].
51. The tourism industry contributes to approximately 7.1% of the private job market in America[5].
52. Approximately 15.7 American jobs are either considered tourism or travel jobs[5].
53. One in ten American jobs is dependent on travel or tourism, not including agricultural jobs[5].
54. American travel and tourism industry workers receive approximately $267.9 billion annually[5].
55. Approximately $170.9 billion in taxes is generated through travel and tourism in the US annually[5].
56. Overall, the US generates an average of 1.1 trillion dollars annually from the travel and tourism industry[5].
57. Transportation contributed to over 23% of the US travel and tourism real output in 2021[5].
58. Traveler accommodations contributed to nearly 8% of the US travel and tourism real output in 2021[5].
Travel Spending Statistics In The US And Abroad
59. Americans typically anticipate spending around $2,000 on any given vacation[6].
60. On average, Americans actually spend around $1,145 per person on a vacation[7].
61. The average cost per night for a hotel room in the US is around $129[6].
62. The average cost of a round-trip domestic flight in the US is around $350[6].
63. Americans are projected to spend $200 billion on travel this year[8].
64. Approximately 62% of Americans are planning to spend more on vacation this year (2023)[9].
65. On average, $101.1 billion is spent on vacations taking place during summer[9].
66. In 2021, Americans spent approximately $73.9 billion while on international trips[8].
67. International tourists to the US spent approximately $80.1 billion in 2021[10].
Inbound Tourism Statistics
68. In 2021, 22.1 million people entered the US for the purpose of tourism[11].
69. The country of origin that most tourists travel from to the US is Mexico — over ten million people in 2021[11].
70. Canada has the second most US-bound tourists. Over 2.5 million tourists came to the US from Canada in 2021[11].
71. Mexicans and Canadians made up approximately 58% of US-bound tourists in 2021[11].
72. Columbians contributed to 4.8% of inbound tourists in 2021, a sharp increase of 293.8% from 2020[11].
73. The UK provided 2.1% of 2021’s tourists — nearly half a million people[11].
74. The country with the largest increase in tourists between 2020 and 2021 was Peru with a 340.5% increase in tourists to the US[11].
75. There were 404,937 tourists from Peru who visited the US in 2021[11].
Outbound Tourism Statistics
76. Approximately 71% of Americans have been out of the country at least once[12].
77. Around 19% of Americans have been to just one country[12].
78. Around 12% of Americans have been to two countries[12].
79. Many Americans have been to three to four countries — approximately 15%[12].
80. Approximately 14% of Americans have been to five to nine countries[12].
81. Many Americans have made it to ten countries or more — about 11%[12].
82. The number of Americans who traveled abroad in 2021 reached 18.21 million people[13].
83. The top three countries most commonly visited by US citizens match the countries that visit the US — Mexico (25.8 million visitors), Canada (15 million visitors), and the UK (2.8 million visitors)[14].
84. When asked, however, most Americans claimed the most ideal travel destination was the Caribbean[14].
85. There were 2.7 million American visitors to the Dominican Republic in 2021[14].
86. There were 2.1 million American visitors to France in 2021[14].
87. Many Americans travel to Rome — around 16% of American tourists in 2017[14].
What Are The Most Popular Travel Destinations In The US
88. The most visited place in the US is Times Square in New York City, visited by nearly 50 million people every year[15].
89. Central Park in New York City comes in second with nearly 40 million annual visitors[15].
90. Union Station in Washington, DC is the third most visited destination. Over 36 million people visit Union Station every year[15].
91. Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA is the fourth most visited destination in the US with 16 million annual visitors[15].
92. The most visited state in the US is California. Approximately 279.1 million people are expected to visit California in 2023[18].
93. The least visited state in the US is Alaska. Only 13% of the American population has visited Alaska[17].
94. New York City is the most frequently visited city in the US with over 10 million visitors per year[19].
95. Miami is the second most visited city in the US with over five million visitors annually[19].
96. Los Angeles is the third most visited city in the US with nearly 5 million visitors annually[19].
97. The most visited National Park in the US is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Nearly 13 million people visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park every year[20].
98. The most visited museum in the US is the Museum of Metropolitan Art in New York City with over 1.1 million visitors annually[23].
99. The most visited theme park in the US is the Magic Kingdom in Florida with over 20 million visitors per year[21].
100. The most visited monument in the US is the Lincoln Memorial with over 6 million visitors in the US in 2022[22].
Sources
- Zippia
- Tourism Academy
- Upgraded Points
- Statista
- Bureau of Economic Analysis
- LendEDU
- CreditDonkey
- The Ascent
- Travel Agent Central
- International Trade Administration
- International Trade Administration
- Pew Research Center
- Statista
- Wandering Trader
- WorldAtlas
- WorldAtlas
- YouGov
- Visit California
- World Atlas
- USA Today
- Statista
- USA Today
- USA Today
