US welcomed almost 70 million tourists in 2013.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: A new report released by the US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, entitled “The Spring 2014 Forecast for International Travel,” says that the number of Indian tourists who visit the US is expected to cross the one-million mark in 2015.
That number comes from an analysis of trends over the last few years, which show an incremental growth in the number of Indians choosing to vacation in the States. The report also says that, for the time period between 2013 and 2018, India will register the third-fastest growing rate of visitors to the US – 54%. This trails only China (139%) and Colombia (56%), and puts India ahead of Taiwan (52%), Brazil (50%), and Argentina (48%).
Among Asian-Pacific countries in particular, India ranks third in terms of US-bound visitor growth rate in 2014 alone. China leads with 21%, Taiwan follows at 15%, while India is at 12%. India had 859,000 visitors last year, an increase of 18.6% from 2012, ranking it 11th overall for 2013. It is anticipated to send 962,000 visitors this year (the aforementioned 12% increase), 1,068,000 in 2015 (11% increase, when it crosses the one-million mark), 1,164,000 in 2016 (9% increase), 1,246,000 in 2017 (7% increase), and 1,320,000 in 2018 (6% increase).
The numbers were unveiled by Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, on Monday. According to the report, 2013 was a record-breaking year for US tourism, with an astonishing $181 billion in total receipts, and $57 billion trade surplus generated by 69.8 million foreign visitors coming to the US. The $181 billion number is a 9.1% increase over the figure from 2012, and the Department of Commerce also says that around eight million jobs in the US are supported, directly or indirectly, by tourism.
“A record number of international visitors continue to choose the United States as their travel destination, which is contributing to our economic growth and supporting millions of jobs,” said Secretary Pritzker. “The Obama administration is committed to building on this success, and meeting the challenge President Obama laid out in his National Travel and Tourism Strategy to welcome 100 million international visitors to the United States and grow our economy by $250 billion by 2021.”
This year, the number of total tourists is expected to increase again, with projections stating that over 72 million people from all countries combined, will visit the US.