International tourism, expenditures in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: International tourism, expenditures was 5.5% in 2019. ▼ Falling
International tourism, expenditures in Latin America & Caribbean, 1995–2019
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism. Measured in % of total imports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for international tourism, expenditures in Latin America & Caribbean is 5.5%, measured in 2019.
The figure is down 3.5% on the previous year and up 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, expenditures in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 7.7% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 4.4%, in 2008.
That places Latin America & Caribbean 28th out of 47 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
International tourism, expenditures in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | % of total imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 7.3% | — |
| 1996 | 7.7% | +6.1% |
| 1997 | 7.1% | -7.8% |
| 1998 | 6.2% | -12.4% |
| 1999 | 6.0% | -4.2% |
| 2000 | 5.8% | -2.0% |
| 2001 | 5.8% | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 5.5% | -5.2% |
| 2003 | 5.4% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 5.1% | -6.1% |
| 2005 | 5.1% | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 4.8% | -5.8% |
| 2007 | 4.7% | -1.2% |
| 2008 | 4.4% | -6.7% |
| 2009 | 5.4% | +22.1% |
| 2010 | 5.0% | -7.2% |
| 2011 | 4.9% | -1.9% |
| 2012 | 5.1% | +4.6% |
| 2013 | 5.5% | +6.8% |
| 2014 | 5.6% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 5.5% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 6.1% | +10.0% |
| 2017 | 6.3% | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 5.7% | -9.0% |
| 2019 | 5.5% | -3.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 6.9% | 6.0% | 7.7% | 5 |
| 2000s | 5.2% | 4.4% | 5.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.5% | 4.9% | 6.3% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
More private sector data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Merchandise trade 44.2% (2025)
- Food imports 9.1% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 73.2% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 1.66 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 24.7% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 46.5% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 1.67 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 2,503 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2256 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 6.02 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, expenditures in Latin America & Caribbean?
- International tourism, expenditures in Latin America & Caribbean was 5.5% in 2019, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, expenditures recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 7.7% in 1996.
- What is the lowest international tourism, expenditures recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.4% in 2008.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for international tourism, expenditures?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 28th out of 47 groups with data for 2019.
- Is international tourism, expenditures rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean data come from?
- The figures come from Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism, published as part of International tourism, expenditures (% of total imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
International tourism expenditures are expenditures of international outbound visitors in other countries, including payments to foreign carriers for international transport. These expenditures may include those by residents traveling abroad as same-day visitors, except in cases where these are important enough to justify separate classification. For some countries they do not include expenditures for passenger transport items. Their share in imports is calculated as a ratio to imports of goods and services, which comprise all transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world involving a change of ownership from nonresidents to residents of general merchandise, goods sent for processing and repairs, nonmonetary gold, and services.