Latest data—for November 2021—show that UK has returned to its No. 1 ranking as top Inbound Market. But 60 percent of year-to-date inbound traffic came from LATAM and Caribbean markets.
Essentially unnoticed when the U.S. National Travel & Tourism Office (NTTO) made it available during the holidays just past, the monthly “quick release” of overseas travel to the United States showed industry leaders that their hope and promise of a return to visiting the U.S. by UK visitors who have long established the USA as their favorite long-haul holiday destination was fulfilled.
After some 20 months of pandemic-driven restraints during which the United States had closed its borders on land, overseas and in the skies, its government allowed travelers from most of the UK, EU and other nations to travel to once again visit the USA beginning last month—on November 8th.
Fired up because of pent-up demand, the Brits stormed the shores of Florida and the gates of its Central Florida theme parks, as well as other U.S. destinations, and returned home with their well-earned sunburns. U.S. travel suppliers were happy to welcome Brits, and the UK travel trade was, as the issue of INBOUND was preparing to publish, were busy as usual during the peaks month of January promoting Visit USA product.
Will the omicron variant of the COVID 19 dampen demand? It is difficult to make the determination on this matter, as the speed and fluidity with which the variant is a genuine concern. For the most part, travel sellers are making sure that security, safety and concerns about health figure in their packages, and consumers—opinion polls and surveys seem to suggest—still want to travel, but are proceeding with caution.
LATAM continues as strong regional source market. While no one that we know expects the popular destinations of South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean, to maintain the share of long-haul travel to the United States from origin destinations of Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Guatemala, it is probably safe to project that these country markets will be stronger than they were in the pre-pandemic era—especially since a new air service infrastructure has been built up in connecting them.
Lastly, Colombia could just break the million-visit threshold once the data for December and full-year 2021 are released next month.
Arrivals to U.S. from Top 15 Overseas
Country Source Markets for
November 2021
| Country Market & Rank | Arrivals | % Change vs November 2020 |
| 1. UNITED KINGDOM | 151,116 | +2857.8% |
| 2. COLOMBIA | 82,554 | +129.3% |
| 3. INDIA | 70,808 | +313.8% |
| 4. GERMANY | 67,375 | +1720.5% |
| 5. FRANCE | 56,446 | +1855.9% |
| 6. BRAZIL | 49,181 | +1677.4% |
| 7. ECUADOR | 39,575 | +59.6% |
| 8. SPAIN | 39,238 | +1130.4% |
| 9. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | 38,949 | +71.0% |
| 10. SOUTH KOREA | 33,707 | +639.8% |
| 11. ARGENTINA | 32,927 | +170.7% |
| 12. CHILE | 32,542 | +128.6% |
| 13. ITALY | 30,189 | +1137.3% |
| 14. PERU | 29,362 | +212.8% |
| 15. GUATEMALA | 28,278 | +119.6% |
Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, ITA, I&A, National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) I-94 Program
* In 2019, 11 out of the Top 20 overseas inbound travel markets to the USA, had a record year.
Arrivals to U.S. from Top 15 Overseas Country Markets
Year-to-Date (through November) 2021
| Country Market & Rank | Arrivals | % Change vs YTD thru Nov. 2020 |
| 1. COLOMBIA | 933,904 | +344.5% |
| 2. ECUADOR | 375,406 | +157.4% |
| 3. PERU | 372,655 | +381.0% |
| 4. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | 349,916 | +138.2% |
| 5. INDIA | 343,995 | +10.5% |
| 6. ARGENTINA | 267,347 | +48.0% |
| 7. UNITED KINGDOM | 262,366 | -63.8% |
| 8. GUATEMALA | 248,892 | +270.7% |
| 9. COSTA RICA | 227,606 | +174.5% |
| 10. HONDURAS | 212,655 | +266.6% |
| 11. VENEZUELA | 190,966 | +171.3% |
| 12. ISRAEL | 189,372 | +136.0% |
| 13. EL SALVADOR | 173,512 | +246.3% |
| 14. CHINA, PRC | 172,029 | -54.2% |
| 15. CHILE | 171,585 | +48.3% |
Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, ITA, I&A, National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) I-94 Program
Arrivals to U.S. from Overseas World Regions
November 2021
| World Region | Number of Arrivals | 2021 Share of Market | % Change vs. Nov. 2020 |
| TOTAL OVERSEAS | 1,253,043 | 100.0% | +318.0% |
| WESTERN EUROPE | 467,123 | 37.3% | +1834.5% |
| EASTERN EUROPE | 34,361 | 2.7% | +333.2% |
| ASIA | 162,969 | 13.0% | +350.9% |
| MIDDLE EAST | 53,028 | 4.2% | +316.9% |
| AFRICA | 14,621 | 1.2% | +173.9% |
| OCEANIA | 10,155 | 0.8% | +407.2% |
| SOUTH AMERICA | 299,938 | 23.9% | +158.8% |
| CENTRAL AMERICA | 114,432 | 9.1% | +148.3% |
| CARIBBEAN | 96,416 | 7.7% | +94.7% |
Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, ITA, I&A, National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) I-94 Program
Arrivals to U.S. from Overseas World Regions
Year-to-Date (through Nov.) 2021
| World Region | Number of Arrivals | 2021 Share of Market | % Change YTD vs. 2020 |
| TOTAL OVERSEAS | 7,475,059 | 100.0 | 4.1% |
| WESTERN EUROPE | 1,055,761 | 14.1 | -51.8% |
| EASTERN EUROPE | 217,015 | 2.9 | -8.1% |
| ASIA | 1,072,355 | 14.3 | -49.2% |
| MIDDLE EAST | 456,347 | 6.1 | 84.4% |
| AFRICA | 136,575 | 1.8 | 38.8% |
| OCEANIA | 42,929 | 0.6 | -83.1% |
| SOUTH AMERICA | 2,612,543 | 35.0 | 105.3% |
| CENTRAL AMERICA | 1,029,878 | 13.8 | 213.1% |
| CARIBBEAN | 851,656 | 11.4 | 93.4% |
Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, ITA, I&A, National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) I-94 Program
Top 15 Ports of Entry for Overseas Visitors
| Port of Entry | Number of entries January through November 2021 | Change vs. January through November 2021 |
| MIAMI, FL | 2,158,838 | 77.5% |
| NEW YORK, NY | 1,165,494 | 7.9% |
| FT. LAUDERDALE, FL | 624,855 | 97.6% |
| LOS ANGELES, CA | 505,238 | -33.0% |
| NEWARK, NJ | 402,426 | 16.3% |
| HOUSTON, TX | 379,537 | 80.2% |
| ORLANDO, FL | 290,407 | -4.5% |
| ATLANTA, GA | 287,964 | 32.5% |
| CHICAGO, IL | 283,152 | 19.6% |
| WASHINGTON, DC | 253,248 | 38.3% |
| DALLAS, TX | 249,432 | 59.4% |
| SAN FRANCISCO, CA | 243,584 | -35.5% |
| BOSTON, MA | 141,399 | -7.7% |
| SEATTLE, WA | 65,403 | -36.4% |
| DETROIT, MI | 59,552 | -35.4% |
