The U.S. Welcomed a Record Number of Overseas Tourists in 2015
Photo Credit: Travelers ride Citi Bikes along a beach in Miami. International travel to the U.S. had another record year in 2015 with 77.5 million visitors. Skift / Dan Peltier
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International travel had another banner year in 2015, but given currency challenges and uncertainties such as the Brexit vote, the odds are against a repeat performance in terms of international visitor arrivals in 2016.
The year 2015 was the first that overseas arrivals to the U.S., or those excluding Canada and Mexico, made up nearly 50 percent of all international visitors as markets such as China continued to increase their market share.
The 77.5 million international visitors to the U.S. in 2015, a 3 percent increase over the previous year, is a record according to the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office and the U.S. Department of Commerce. The agencies released 2015 international visitor arrival estimates this week. Overseas arrivals, or those excluding Canada and Mexico, increased by 10 percent over 2014.
Some 49.5 percent of all international arrivals to the U.S. last year were from countries besides Canada and Mexico. That's due in part to Canada's market share decreasing four percentage points since 2014, dropping from 23 million visitors in 2014 to 20 million last year (a 1
