Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in North America
North America: Travel services (% of commercial service exports) was 20.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Travel services in North America, 1970–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
North America recorded 20.3% for travel services in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.0% on the previous year and down 20.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in North America peaked at 38.6% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 9.8%, in 2021.
North America ranks 34th of 45 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in North America, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 29.6% | — |
| 1971 | 29.2% | -1.2% |
| 1972 | 29.1% | -0.4% |
| 1973 | 29.1% | -0.0% |
| 1974 | 27.7% | -5.1% |
| 1975 | 28.7% | +3.6% |
| 1976 | 29.4% | +2.5% |
| 1977 | 29.2% | -0.6% |
| 1978 | 29.0% | -0.6% |
| 1979 | 28.6% | -1.4% |
| 1980 | 29.5% | +3.2% |
| 1981 | 32.8% | +11.3% |
| 1982 | 30.3% | -7.9% |
| 1983 | 28.3% | -6.6% |
| 1984 | 33.5% | +18.4% |
| 1985 | 33.3% | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 34.9% | +4.8% |
| 1987 | 34.4% | -1.2% |
| 1988 | 35.2% | +2.1% |
| 1989 | 36.1% | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 37.1% | +2.8% |
| 1991 | 37.3% | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 38.5% | +3.1% |
| 1993 | 38.6% | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 36.5% | -5.3% |
| 1995 | 36.3% | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 36.1% | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 35.2% | -2.4% |
| 1998 | 34.0% | -3.4% |
| 1999 | 32.5% | -4.6% |
| 2000 | 32.4% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 30.8% | -5.1% |
| 2002 | 28.2% | -8.4% |
| 2003 | 26.2% | -7.0% |
| 2004 | 25.7% | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 25.3% | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 23.6% | -6.8% |
| 2007 | 22.6% | -4.3% |
| 2008 | 22.2% | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 21.8% | -2.1% |
| 2010 | 22.8% | +4.6% |
| 2011 | 22.3% | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 23.1% | +3.4% |
| 2013 | 24.1% | +4.7% |
| 2014 | 24.3% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 25.4% | +4.6% |
| 2016 | 25.5% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 24.7% | -3.2% |
| 2018 | 24.3% | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 23.5% | -3.5% |
| 2020 | 11.0% | -53.1% |
| 2021 | 9.8% | -10.6% |
| 2022 | 16.9% | +72.1% |
| 2023 | 20.7% | +22.2% |
| 2024 | 21.4% | +3.5% |
| 2025 | 20.3% | -5.0% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in North America changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +72.1% | 9.8% | 16.9% |
| 2020 | -53.1% | 23.5% | 11.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 29.0% | 27.7% | 29.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 32.8% | 28.3% | 36.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 36.2% | 32.5% | 38.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 25.9% | 21.8% | 32.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.0% | 22.3% | 25.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.7% | 9.8% | 21.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near North America
More private sector data for North America
- Merchandise trade 20.6% (2025)
- Food imports 7.1% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 78.2% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 4.09 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 1.05 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 10.0% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 51.8% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 2.74 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 1.39 trillion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 7,145 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in North America?
- Travel services in North America was 20.3% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 38.6% in 1993.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.8% in 2021.
- How does North America rank for travel services?
- North America ranks 34th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North America data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Travel services (% of commercial service exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from an economy by nonresidents during visits to that economy, or acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.