When the world’s biggest entertainment and media industry highlights all aspects of American life, the United States naturally becomes the place to visit.
Whether global travelers come to shop, relax, visit attractions, or see relatives, the U.S. is bustling with tourists year-round. In fact, the U.S. ranks second to France in terms of annual visits. The industry employs around 7.6 million people in the United States.
Tourism was responsible for adding $1.5 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2016. According to some estimates, this figure will rise to $2.6 trillion by 2027.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed the countries that send the most visitors to the United States. Of the 75 million tourists who visited the United States in 2016, 87% came from the 20 countries on this list.
Which countries do you think like to visit the United States the most?
Click here to see the 20 countries that love to visit the United States.
To identify the 20 countries that love to travel to the United States, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the countries with the highest numbers of non U.S. residents who visited the U.S. in 2016 from the National Trade & Tourism Office, an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. The National Trade & Tourism Office also counts visitors by month. Population estimates are for 2016 and came from the World Bank. Taiwan’s population estimate was identified using statistics provided by the CIA Factbook.
20. Taiwan
> Total arrivals in 2016: 463,225
> Population: 23,465,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: 5.1%
> Favorite month to travel: June
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19. Switzerland
> Total arrivals in 2016: 469,381
> Population: 8,372,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: -12.5%
> Favorite month to travel: July
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18. Sweden
> Total arrivals in 2016: 558,624
> Population: 9,903,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: -4.7%
> Favorite month to travel: June
17. Venezuela
> Total arrivals in 2016: 579,948
> Population: 31,568,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: -1.8%
> Favorite month to travel: December
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16. Netherlands
> Total arrivals in 2016: 672,046
> Population: 17,018,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: -7.4%
> Favorite month to travel: July
15. Spain
> Total arrivals in 2016: 800,697
> Population: 46,444,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: 6.4%
> Favorite month to travel: August
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14. Colombia
> Total arrivals in 2016: 835,915
> Population: 48,653,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: -2.1%
> Favorite month to travel: June
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13. Argentina
> Total arrivals in 2016: 906,496
> Population: 43,847,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: 14.5%
> Favorite month to travel: July
12. Italy
> Total arrivals in 2016: 982,841
> Population: 60,601,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: -5.4%
> Favorite month to travel: August
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11. India
> Total arrivals in 2016: 1,172,256
> Population: 1,324,171,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: 4.1%
> Favorite month to travel: May
10. Australia
> Total arrivals in 2016: 1,346,487
> Population: 24,127,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: -7.1%
> Favorite month to travel: September
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9. France
> Total arrivals in 2016: 1,628,069
> Population: 66,896,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: -7.1%
> Favorite month to travel: July
8. Brazil
> Total arrivals in 2016: 1,693,328
> Population: 207,653,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: -23.7%
> Favorite month to travel: January
7. South Korea
> Total arrivals in 2016: 1,973,936
> Population: 51,246,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: 11.8%
> Favorite month to travel: July
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6. Germany
> Total arrivals in 2016: 2,034,866
> Population: 82,668,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: -10.4%
> Favorite month to travel: October
5. China
> Total arrivals in 2016: 2,972,264
> Population: 1,378,665,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: 14.7%
> Favorite month to travel: August
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4. Japan
> Total arrivals in 2016: 3,576,955
> Population: 126,995,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: -4.8%
> Favorite month to travel: August
3. United Kingdom
> Total arrivals in 2016: 4,573,708
> Population: 65,637,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: -6.7%
> Favorite month to travel: August
2. Mexico
> Total arrivals in 2016: 18,730,015
> Population: 127,540,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: 1.9%
> Favorite month to travel: August
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1. Canada
> Total arrivals in 2016: 19,301,507
> Population: 36,286,000
> Year-over-year chg. in arrivals: -6.8%
> Favorite month to travel: August
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