BUSINESS
Overseas
visitation
estimates for
U.S. states
and cities
in 2016
BY RON ERDMANN AND JULIE HEIZER,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE,
NATIONAL TRAVEL AND TOURISM OFFICE
THE STATE AND CITY visitation esti-
mates reported here are based on
weighted results of NTTO’s Survey of
International Air Travelers and data col-
lected from the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection’s arrival/departure forms.
Survey results are expanded to represent
the travel population, which starts with
developing estimates for the states and
cities based upon the ports generating
visitors to those destinations.
Increases or declines in overseas or
specific-country visitation estimates
from NTTO can be explained by review-
ing the data from the SIAT. Port-of-entry
data between any two years for visita-
tion is the first place to start when look-
ing at changes in year-to-year visitation.
Examples of this impact are illustrated
below. But first, let’s look at the top des-
tinations visited in 2016.
Top states and territories
visited by overseas travelers
New York was the most-visited state by
overseas travelers in 2016, a position it has
held for 16 consecutive years. Visitation to
the state (10.01 million) declined by 4 per-
cent last year, and New York’s share of all
overseas travelers slipped from 27.1 per-
cent to 26.6. Florida remained in second
position, with a 1 percent decline in visita-
tion, bringing it to 9.5 million. California
visitation (8.2 million) increased 1 percent
from 2015 and maintained its No. 3 posi-
tion for the third straight year.
Nevada, Hawaii, Texas, Massachusetts,
Guam, Illinois and Arizona rounded out
Overseas visitors to U.S. states/territories in 2016
RANK
STATE/TERRITORY
1 NEW YORK
2 FLORIDA
3 CALIFORNIA
4 NEVADA
5 HAWAII
VISITORS (000) | 2015/2016 CHANGE
10,014
9,540
8,221
3,417
3,146
-3%
4%
6 TEXAS 1,692 | -5%
7 MASSACHUSETTS 1,643 | -8%
8 GUAM 1,583 | 5%
9 ILLINOIS 1,567 | -8%
10
1%
ARIZONA 1,158 | 11%
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, ITA, Industry & Analysis, National Travel and Tourism Office
See the full list at bit.ly/2j4vFDP
10
December 2017
-1%
-4%
the top 10 states/territories visited in 2016.
Both Texas and Guam moved up one
position in the rankings last year. Of the
24 states/territories for which estimates
are available, double-digit increases were
recorded for two states. Arizona and New
Jersey posted the highest growth rate, each
tied at 11 percent. In contrast, five states
posted double-digit declines in 2016.
Top cities visited by
overseas travelers
The cities most visited by overseas
travelers in 2016 were New York City
(9.8 million); Miami (5.4 million); Los
Angeles (5.0 million); Orlando, Florida
(4.5 million); San Francisco (3.6 mil-
lion); Las Vegas; Honolulu; Washington,
D.C.; Boston and Chicago. Of the 25 city
visitation estimates issued, 11 posted
increased percentages, four of which
were double-digit. The largest visitation
increases were posted by West Palm
Beach, Florida (25 percent); Flagstaff/
Sedona/Grand Canyon, Arizona (15 per-
cent); Anaheim, California (14 percent);
and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (12 percent).
In 2016, seven of the top 15 U.S. ports
of entry posted increases in overseas
volume; however, not all the “host”
cities necessarily reflected the same
growth in visitation. For example, let’s
look at Chicago and Fort Lauderdale.
Comparing 2015 data with 2016 data
of NTTO overseas visitation estimates,
we see how changes in the top ports of
entry generating travelers to these two
cities shifted between the two years and
had a very dramatic effect on both.
Overseas visitor arrivals who
cleared customs at Chicago O’Hare
International Airport (ORD) totaled 1.633
million, down 11 percent from 2015,
while total international air traffic at
O’Hare was up in 2016. The difference is
that the growth came from the 54 per-
cent of U.S. citizens who arrived at ORD.
The number of overseas arrivals who
visited the Chicago area was estimated
to be 1.47 million, down 10 percent.
Chicago is a major hub for overseas
visitors, as 50 percent of the arrivals at
the airport visited the city, which was
up from 2015. The city relies on O’Hare,
as 58 percent of all overseas visitors
to Chicago (850,000) entered via ORD,
which was down seven percent.