International tourism, number of departures in North America
North America: International tourism, number of departures was 208.81 million in 2019. ▲ Rising
International tourism, number of departures in North America, 1995–2019
Source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
Analysis
In 2019, international tourism, number of departures in North America stood at 208.81 million. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 6.2% on the previous year and up 17.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, international tourism, number of departures in North America peaked at 208.81 million in 2019 and was at its lowest, 97.47 million, in 1995.
That places North America 18th out of 26 groups with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
International tourism, number of departures in North America, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 97.47 million | — |
| 1996 | 101.12 million | +3.7% |
| 1997 | 103.33 million | +2.2% |
| 1998 | 108.96 million | +5.4% |
| 1999 | 111.31 million | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 115.82 million | +4.1% |
| 2001 | 111.59 million | -3.7% |
| 2002 | 106.50 million | -4.6% |
| 2003 | 99.92 million | -6.2% |
| 2004 | 104.91 million | +5.0% |
| 2005 | 104.33 million | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 195.43 million | +87.3% |
| 2007 | 190.43 million | -2.6% |
| 2008 | 187.92 million | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 177.47 million | -5.6% |
| 2010 | 175.23 million | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 176.03 million | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 181.54 million | +3.1% |
| 2013 | 184.78 million | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 185.47 million | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 186.37 million | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 194.54 million | +4.4% |
| 2017 | 203.04 million | +4.4% |
| 2018 | 196.55 million | -3.2% |
| 2019 | 208.81 million | +6.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 104.44 million | 97.47 million | 111.31 million | 5 |
| 2000s | 139.43 million | 99.92 million | 195.43 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 189.24 million | 175.23 million | 208.81 million | 10 |
Countries ranked near North America
More private sector data for North America
- Merchandise trade 20.6% (2025)
- Food imports 7.3% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 77.9% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 4.09 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 10.3% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 52.8% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 2.74 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 7,145 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0828 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate 4.2 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is international tourism, number of departures in North America?
- International tourism, number of departures in North America was 208.81 million in 2019, according to Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism.
- What is the highest international tourism, number of departures recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 208.81 million in 2019.
- What is the lowest international tourism, number of departures recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 97.47 million in 1995.
- How does North America rank for international tourism, number of departures?
- North America ranks 18th out of 26 groups with data for 2019.
- Is international tourism, number of departures rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this North America 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, number of departures. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
International outbound tourists are the number of departures that people make from their country of usual residence to any other country for any purpose other than a remunerated activity in the country visited. The data on outbound tourists refer to the number of departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips from a country during a given period is counted each time as a new departure.