Sam Sees World | Millennial Travel Inspiration & Easy Travel Tips
TOP TRAVEL STATISTICS
FOR 2022
Travel Industry Statistics
Travel Industry Market Size
Travel Spending
Number of travelers per country
Business Travel Market Size
Number of business travelers
Travelers are eager to hit the road this holiday season. After two challenging years of travel bans, restrictions, and lockdowns, more people are making big travel plans despite financial concerns.
TRAVEL INDUSTRY STATISTICS
22.1 million people visited U.S. in 2021
International arrivals to the U.S. grew to 22.1 million in 2021, up from 19.2 million in 2020 and down from 79.3 million in 2019.
18 million americans traveled overseas
Compared to 2020, the number of U.S. citizens traveling overseas increased to 18.21 million in 2021.
There are 790 million domestic trips in 2022
Americans took 790 million trips within their own country. This is down from 2.29 billion in 2019.
Travelers took 1.86 billion leisure trips in 2022
This is an increase from 2020 when travelers took only 1.40 billion leisure trips due to the pandemic.
Leisure trips account for 80% of all U.S. domestic travel
Of all the travel trips that americans take, the majority of them are for leisure purposes.
32% of Americans will take a leisure trip
For 32% of American travelers, leisure travel will be a high budget priority in the next three months—a decrease from the 34% who said the same back in July.
Travel Industry Market Size
The travel industry has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. Despite some domestic leisure travel starting to pick up again, business travel and international inbound travel are still severely depressed. This has resulted in an uneven recovery across different sectors of the travel industry, and significant job losses.
After a sharp decline in 2020, the global travel industry saw a 27.4% increase in 2022. This brought the total contribution of travel and tourism to the global economy up to $1.7 trillion.
Similarly, the market size of the Tourism industry in the U.S. has declined 3.9% per year on average between 2017 and 2022 but has grown 19.9% from 2021. Although this is still below pre-pandemic figures, it is a significant increase from the previous year.
490,685 travel businesses in the u.s.
This coulds include anything from hotels and restaurants to tour operators and shopping outlets.
15.8 million Jobs in the U.S.
Travel is essential to the American economy, providing an indispensable source of job creation.
Travel and tourism contributed $5.81 trillion to the global economy.
Travel industry is one of the largest industries in the U.S.
Travel Spending
Prior to the pandemic, the U.S. travel industry experienced 10 years of uninterrupted growth thanks to the strength of domestic leisure travel, domestic business travel, and international inbound travel. Travel was a major economic driver in every region of the U.S., accounting for 1 in 10 jobs and generating a travel trade surplus.
Domestic travel spending currently stands at $932 billion in 2022
Domestic travel spending in the U.S. fell to $682 billion in 2020 as a result of travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In 2025, the domestic travel spending is forecast to reach $1.06 trillion. Travel expenditures include spending by domestic travelers in the U.S. on travel-related expenses such as transportation, lodging, meals, and entertainment.
International Travel Spending hit $131 Billion in 2022
International travel spending increased 11% over the previous year. Despite the annual increase, the total expenditure by international travelers remained way below pre-pandemic levels, amounting to roughly $131 U.S. in 2022. In 2025, the international travel spending is forecast to reach $198 billion. Travel expenditures include spending by domestic travelers in the U.S. on travel-related expenses such as transportation, lodging, meals, and entertainment.
Countries with the Most Travelers
You might not be surprised to learn that China is the most well-traveled nation in the world. In fact, its citizens spend over a quarter of a trillion dollars on tourism each year – which is more than what both the US and Germany (in second and third place, respectively) spend combined.
What Motivates Americans
to Travel?
Americans are looking forward to a more normal holiday season this year after two years of smaller celebrations and canceled trips. But what are motivating Americans to travel this year ?There are many reasons why travelers hit the road during the holiday season, including reconnecting with loved ones, relaxing, and celebrating holiday traditions. Even with elevated financial concerns, spending time with family and friends is still a priority for many people during this time of year.
Despite rising concerns around the world related to inflation and the resulting higher costs, most travelers aren’t being dissuaded from taking vacations. However, their travel patterns are changing in some ways, like opting to travel shorter distances, take shorter trips overall and stay with friends or family instead of paying for separate accommodations.
BUSINESS TRAVEL
STATISTICS
With things slowly returning back to normal, business trips are now picking up again. If you’re a freelancer who likes to work while traveling or one of the many seasoned business travelers that had to halt their travels due to the pandemic, then you’ll definitely want to take a look at these business travel statistics.
Travelers took 251 million domestic business trips
Before the pandemic, the U.S. had recorded more than 470 million business trips on its territory in 2021.
Travelers will take 371 million business trips in 2022
According forecasts, the number of business trips will start to pick up again in the next few years, reaching 487 million by 2026.
Business travelers take 1.8 trips on average each month
Business travelers surveyed in the U.S. are expected to take an average of 1.8 trips each month over the following six months.
Total business travel spending reached 230 billion in 2022
This includes both domestic and international business spending.
Business travelers spend an average of $310 daily
This is an increase of 12.6% from the previous year.
There are 1.3 business travelers everyday in the U.S.
The number of people who travel for business in the U.S is constantly increasing, reaching 1.3 million travelers everyday.
Business Travel Industry
Market Size
The travel industry has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. Despite some domestic leisure travel starting to pick up again, business travel and international inbound travel are still severely depressed. This has resulted in an uneven recovery across different sectors of the travel industry, and significant job losses.
After a sharp decline in 2020, the global travel industry saw a 27.4% increase in 2022. This brought the total contribution of travel and tourism to the global economy up to $1.7 trillion.
Similarly, the market size of the Tourism industry in the U.S. has declined 3.9% per year on average between 2017 and 2022 but has grown 19.9% from 2021. Although this is still below pre-pandemic figures, it is a significant increase from the previous year.
business travel supported 1.9M jobs in 2019
Most of these have been lost and not yet recovered.
Business travel now supports only 550,000 jobs
Business travel jobs have only recovered to 29% of what they were in 2019— meaning that 1.4 million jobs are still lost.
5.4 million people traveled for business in the u.s.
5.4 million people around the world travel to the U.S. for business purposes.
Business travelers spend $8 billion abroad
A total of $8 billion was spent by outbound business U.S. travelers in 2021, which is a 67.6%increase from 2020.
Countries with the Most
Business Visitors in the U.S
The leading country of origin for business travelers arriving in the U.S. from overseas was Germany. Around 61.6 thousand business visitors from the Western European country arrived in the U.S. on business visas. In second place was the U.K., with 59.4 thousand business tourist arrivals in the U.S.
