United States of America (USA)
United States of America (USA)
Travellers from the USA made 113.5 million outbound visits in 2024, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$162 billion.
In 2023, the UK welcomed a record 5.1 million visits from the USA. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure was a record £6.3 billion, with an average spend of £1,222 per visit.
Visitor characteristics
- New York Tri-State and California generate the most visits, with the two areas representing over a third of all visits from the USA to the UK.
- Almost six-in-ten American holiday visitors are making a repeat visit.
- Holiday visits continue to lead in terms of volume of visits from the American market (52% of visits), setting new records for volume and value, worth £3.7 billion in spend in 2023.
- London is the leading destination for a trip to the UK, with 45% of visitor nights spent there.
Popular activities for this market
Dining in a restaurant.
Sightseeing of famous buildings and monuments.
Going shopping.
For further information on activities and experiences for this market, please click here.
Explore the inbound data in full
Use our visualisations to see data from this market in greater depth and clarity. Compare annual statistics, and filter by age group, gender, trip duration and more. It includes seasonality, trip purpose and regional spread of visitors to UK destinations. This data is based on the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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Perceptions of Britain
- Americans have a very upbeat perception of the UK as they ranked it sixth overall among 50 nations in the 2024 Anholt Nation Brands Index.
- Americans rate Britain highly - 5th for its contemporary culture, 6th for historic buildings and monuments and for visiting if money was no object, and 7th for vibrant city life/urban attractions.
Global context
Top-level statistics relating to tourism expenditure and popular destinations for this market. For greater detail on inbound tourism flows from this market to the UK, see our data visualisations.
| Measure | 2024 |
| International tourism expenditure (US$bn) | 162.1 |
| Global rank for international tourism expenditure | 2 |
| Number of outbound overnight visits (m) | 113.5 |
| Most visited destination | Mexico |
| Most visited destination in Western Europe | UK |
Caring for visitors
- As many will arrive in Britain on overnight flights from the USA, consideration for early check-in at accommodation is always appreciated – or at least offering a gym/spa to refresh would be welcomed.
- Americans want to stay in four to five-star- properties, in a safe and central location as well as country house hotels when in more rural areas.
- Americans are used to larger rooms than are generally found in Britain, as well as larger beds and having private bathrooms.
- Americans expect to pay for goods and services with a credit card or digital contactless methods, such as Apple Play, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, etc., and are accustomed to tipping/gratuities.
The leisure and travel trade
- The travel trade structure in the US is composed of tour operators, online travel agents (OTAs), travel advisor consortia groups, and frontline retail travel advisors. The market is experiencing growth in the home-based travel advisor community, often affiliated to travel agent consortia. The rise in small group touring was accelerated as a result of COVID, with groups from the US increasingly shifting away from large group tours.
- Generally allow a minimum lead-time of two years for a product to appear in a fully escorted tour, with a shorter planning cycle of six months to a year* for FIT/independent travel. *The shorter planning cycle varies depending on the product & marketing/planning cycle of the trade partner.
- Some independent operators will develop a product at any time of the year due to the ease of digital marketing versus traditional print.
- Contracting for the following year can commence any time from autumn (around World Travel Market) until June.
Access to Britain from the USA
The key routes and transport modes that connect this market with the UK.
| Measure | 2024 |
| Weekly aircraft departures | 933 |
| Weekly seat capacity | 250,910 |
| Airports with direct routes in USA | 32 |
| Airports with direct routes in Britain | 8 |
- Most visitors depart the UK by air (87%), another 12% arrive through the Channel Tunnel (2023).
- Following the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduled seat capacity on non-stop flights from the US to the UK has recovered to 97% of 2019 levels in 2024.
- Rates for Air Passenger duty charged on passengers flying from the UK back to the USA can be found on the official UK government website.
- To see entry requirements for visitors to the UK from this market click here.
Further resources
USA Market and Trade Profile.pdf
Explore the top event companies and media in the USA, and our top business tips.
Where visitors from the US to the UK reside in their own country.xlsx
Where visitors from the US to the UK reside in their own country
USA Experience Seekers Pen Portrait.pdf
USA Experience Seeker Pen Portrait
North American LGBTQ travel to Britain
North American LGBTQ travel to Britain
How we source this information
We work with a number of data sources to provide a rich and insightful picture of our key inbound source markets. This includes, but is not limited to, data provided by Oxford Economics, the UNWTO, Apex, Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index and from our own surveys and ad-hoc research. The largest share of the data comes from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) by the ONS.
Visit our About the International Passenger Survey page for more information on how the data is collected and analysed.
