| Photo by John Oswald on Unsplash
NEW YORK—The U.S. Department of Commerce issued its National Travel and Tourism Strategy two years ago. It set an ambitious five-year goal of welcoming 90 million international visitors annually by 2027. The Department said it expects to reach the goal ahead of schedule.
According to the latest estimates from the International Trade Administration, the U.S. expects to welcome 91 million annual visitors by 2026, surpassing the Strategy’s goal one year before the anticipated timeline.
Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo noted that travel and tourism are critical drivers of the economy and employment across the United States, supporting 9.5 American jobs and $2.3 trillion of economic output annually.
“But our work is far from over. The Commerce Department is taking decisive actions to support the travel and tourism industry’s recovery from the economic challenges of a global pandemic,” she said. “We will continue working with state and local governments and private sector partners to welcome more international visitors to the U.S.so they can experience the diversity, beauty, and hospitality that make our country the premier travel and tourism destination in the world.”
The National Travel and Tourism Strategy focuses federal efforts in partnership with the private sector to strengthen the global competitiveness of U.S. travel and tourism and create a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable industry for the future. Some successes over the past two years include:
- -Increasing capacity and efficiency to issue 20% more non-immigrant visas in 2023 compared to pre-pandemic issue rates through the U.S. Department of State;
- -Funding $750 million for travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation communities provided by the American Rescue Plan and issued by the Economic Development Administration;
- -Investing $195 million in climate restoration and resilience projects to protect our national parks and more through the U.S. Department of the Interior.
- -From 2020 to 2023, international visitation to the United States increased 246% to 66.5 million, travel exports generated by international visitors increased 153% to $213 billion, and American jobs supported by travel exports increased 63% to 1.6 million. As a result of international visitation to the United States outpacing travel to the rest of the world, our country’s share of global travel increased from 4.7% in 2020 to 5.2% in 2023.
–With Jay Domingo/PDM
