The latest figures released by the United States National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) in May 2023 revealed that India has become the second-largest international source market (excluding Canada and Mexico) for tourist arrivals to the USA, clocking an impressive 199,364 Indian visitors during the month.
On a year-to-date basis between January- May 2023, Indian arrivals to the USA were placed third, after UK and Germany, with a total of 643,270 arrivals. This number represents a significant 6% increase compared to the pre-Covid arrivals during the same period in 2019, which itself was a record-breaking year. The NTTO forecasts that Indian arrivals will surpass 2019 arrival figures by the end of this year.
In 2022, India ranked sixth, with 1.3 million arrivals to the USA and, in terms of money spent, India ranked fourth with a spend of US$ 13.3 billion.
With continued expansion as the world’s third-largest civil aviation market, India continues to add flight capacity to the USA. In addition to direct air services to multiple cities in the US, a host of Middle Eastern, European and Asian airlines provide convenient one-stop services to the country.
The United States continues to be aspirational and the preferred long-haul leisure travel destination for Indian travellers.