International trips by US residents

Advancements in aircraft technology have made air travel cheaper and safer than in decades past. This has enabled more Americans to take to the skies annually for leisure travel, aided by generally expanding disposable income levels. Yet, the financial meltdown and subsequent recession placed a drag on travel. As unemployment soared and corporate profits diminished, business and personal travel slowed down in 2008 before declining in 2009. In 2010, international travel once again gained traction. With a stronger dollar in the first half of the year, particularly against the Euro, and broad improvements in the economic outlook, American businesses and consumers once again opened up their wallets.

Since the recession, however, international trips have grown at a steady rate. Much of this is due to increased fuel efficiency by airliners, which has enabled companies to push ticket prices down. With ticket prices declining to become more affordable, consumers have been encouraged to take more trips. Furthermore, the domestic economy drove worldwide growth in the past decade, leading to a slight acceleration in international leisure and business travel. However, this growth experienced volatility, starting in 2017 with growing geopolitical tensions between the United States and other nations.

Furthermore, US travelers are typically discouraged or outright restricted from traveling abroad to nations in turmoil. The outbreak of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic in 2020 was one such instance. Measures taken to combat the virus outbreak led to rapid declines in 2020. While some people returned to traveling later in the year, restrictions on international travel remained. Thus, the number of international trips from the United States declined by 73.6% in 2020, bringing total outbound travel to its lowest level in many decades. While travel rebounded partially in 2021, it remained lower than pre-pandemic levels, as countries were unlikely to remove some travel restrictions amid the rapid spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant. In 2022, growth continued to surge as the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reported that more than 900.0 million tourists traveled internationally during the year. As a result, international trips made by US residents climbed an additional 97.3% during the year, still far below pre-pandemic levels, however, as tourism during 2022 totaled only 63.0% of pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, international travel continued to increase despite inflation and recessionary concerns. In 2024, trips have continued to grow as the consumer spending and the overall global economy remains stable, despite conflicts emerging throughout the world. During 2025, rapid growth will continue, especially as interest rate cuts in many countries, combined with economic improvements, are made.