2012 International Visitation Sets New Record to Support the National Export Initiative

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced that 67 million international visitors traveled to the United States in 2012, a seven percent increase over 2011. In 2012, the top inbound markets continued to be Canada and Mexico. Visits from Canada increased six percent while visits from Mexico were up eight percent. Six of the top inbound overseas regional markets posted record level visits in 2012: Asia, South America, Oceania, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa.
Highlights
Overseas Resident Visitation Surpasses 2011

• In 2012, overseas resident visits (30 million) were up seven percent compared to 2011, creating a new record level of overseas visits for the United States.
  

Top 15 Countries

• In 2012, 11 of the top 15 countries posted increases in visitation to the United States. The United Kingdom, France and Spain posted the only declines.
• Nine of the top 15 countries posted record visitation to the United States in 2012: Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China, South Korea, Australia, India, Venezuela and Argentina.
  

Top 15 Countries

Country of Residence	% Change 2012 vs. 2011
Canada1	6%
Mexico1	8%
United Kingdom	-2%
Japan	14%
Germany	3%
Brazil	19%
People's Republic of China excl Hong Kong1	35%
France	-3%
South Korea1	9%
Australia1	8%
Italy	-7%
India1	9%
Venezuela1	20%
Argentina1	20%
Spain	-13%

Top Ports: YTD December 2012
In 2012, visitation through the top 15 ports of entry accounted for 81 percent of all overseas visits. The top three ports (New York, Miami and Los Angeles) accounted for 39 percent of all overseas arrivals, nearly one percentage point below last year. Twelve of the top 15 ports posted increases in arrivals in 2012. Five of these ports posted double-digit increases.