U.S. Travel Association today released a study that found the United States ranks 17th out of 18 top travel markets in terms of global competitiveness, according to Euromonitor International. Decades of underinvestment and a lack of focus and coordination from federal policymakers caused the U.S. to fall behind, while other countries actively apply robust strategies to increase travel and grow economic output.
“U.S. officials cannot ignore the bold, decisive steps other nations are taking to advance and modernize their travel economies,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman. “The United States should aspire to lead the way into a new era of seamless and secure travel and capitalize on the many opportunities to grow this critical sector.”
U.S. Travel commissioned the study to better understand the slow recovery of international inbound travel to the U.S. and how the country can more effectively compete for global travelers in the coming decade.
While the U.S. is still the most desired destination for global travelers, it slid to third in total visitation (behind Spain and France). In 2023, it is estimated that the United States welcomed nearly 67 million international visitors—down from 79 million visitors in 2019 and only 84% recovered from pre-pandemic levels, which is far behind other competitors’ recovery rates.
U.S. global market share for long-haul travel declined from 5.4% in 2019 to 5.3% in 2023.
KEY FINDINGS
The study assessed 18 top countries for global travel (including the United States) across four weighted categories: 1) National Leadership, 2) Brand & Product, 3) Identity, Security & Facilitation and 4) Travel & Connectivity. The U.S. notably underperformed in the categories of National Leadership and Identity, Security & Facilitation…
