A Decline of 84 Percent in February vs. Same Month Last Year: The latest monthly report on overseas arrivals from key markets by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Travel & Tourism Office (NTTO) show a dramatic, never-seen before one month decline in the number of travelers to the U.S. from China of 84 percent. Such a drop was not unexpected, however, following the decision of the United States early last month to ban travel from China due to the coronavirus contagion which, for the most part, had been largely confined to China.
The decline of passenger traffic from China in February was so dramatic, in fact, that the country fell out of the list of Top 15 Overseas Markets, ranking #17—quite a decline from the No. 3 position it held throughout 2019.
It is likely that the red ink in the table below will grow to cover the figures for the month of March, during which travel from (and to) other nations to the U.S. was banned.
