U.S. International Arrivals Rise 2.3% in May as Overseas Visits Decline

In Brief: International visitor arrivals to the United States rose 2.3% in May 2026 from a year earlier, driven by growth from Mexico and Canada, while overseas arrivals declined. U.S. citizen departures increased 4.2% to nearly 9.9 million, with Mexico and Europe accounting for large shares of outbound travel.

U.S. International Arrivals Rise 2.3% in May as Overseas Visits Decline – Image Credit Unsplash

International arrivals increase modestly

International visitor arrivals to the United States reached 5,761,256 in May 2026, a 2.3% increase from May 2025, according to National Travel and Tourism Office data.

Visitor volume from Mexico totaled 1,661,218, up 21% from May 2025. Canadian visitor volume reached 1,334,774, an increase of 2.7%.

Overseas visitor arrivals totaled 2,765,264, down 6.5% from May 2025.

Mexico was the largest source market for international visitors, followed by Canada, the United Kingdom with 340,648 arrivals, India with 242,630 and Brazil with 162,556. Together, the five markets accounted for 66% of total international arrivals.

Overseas travel markets

The top five overseas tourism arrivals were from the United Kingdom (284,735), India (191,731), Brazil (144,132), Japan (111,354), and Germany (109,682).

The top five overseas business arrivals were from the United Kingdom (54,737), India (43,361), Japan (29,701), Germany (27,851), and China (19,676).

The top five overseas student arrivals were from China (8,169), India (7,538), South Korea (2,608), Brazil (1,518), and Taiwan (1,515).

U.S. citizen departures rise

U.S. citizen international departures totaled 9,871,129 in May 2026, a 4.2% increase from May 2025.

Mexico was the largest destination market for U.S. travelers, with 3,350,393 departures, representing 33.9% of all U.S. citizen international departures in May. Canada recorded a 10.5% year-over-year increase.

Europe was the second-largest market for outbound U.S. visitors, with 2,585,865 departures, or 26.2% of all departures in May. Outbound travel to Europe increased 2.2% from May 2025.

Year-to-date travel patterns

Year to date, North America, including Mexico and Canada, accounted for 49.3% of U.S. citizen international departures, while overseas destinations accounted for 50.7%.

Combined year to date, Mexico recorded 17,052,938 departures and the Caribbean recorded 4,928,115. Together, the two destinations accounted for 51.2% of total U.S. citizen international visitor departures.