Skift Take
The air travel statistics largely mirror and reinforce the tourism numbers reported by the United States each year: Its neighbors capture the greatest absolute traffic, but emerging destination represent the greatest growth.
Travelers flying in and out of the United States reached a record 185.4 million passengers in 2013, a 4 percent increase over 2012, reports the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Travel & Tourism Office.
An increase in American and international travelers drove the record-breaking growth. Canada and Mexico kept the greatest share of air traffic in and out of a single country, but several regions including the Middle East and South America grabbed a significantly larger piece of the market share over the past year.
Who Flew?
The majority of the flyers passing through the United States were foreign travelers. Fifty-six percent, or 104.4 million international passengers flew in or out of the U.S. last year.
This is a 5 percent increase over 2012, which is comparable to the 4 percent increase in U.S. travelers flying last year. Eighty one million U.S. fly
