Travel services in North America
North America: Travel services 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 5.6% 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 30th of 45 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
Travel services 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 | 32.3% | -5.2% |
| 2000 | 32.2% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 30.6% | -5.1% |
| 2002 | 28.0% | -8.3% |
| 2003 | 26.1% | -7.0% |
| 2004 | 25.6% | -1.9% |
| 2005 | 25.2% | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 23.5% | -6.7% |
| 2007 | 22.5% | -4.3% |
| 2008 | 22.2% | -1.5% |
| 2009 | 21.7% | -2.1% |
| 2010 | 22.7% | +4.6% |
| 2011 | 22.2% | -2.0% |
| 2012 | 23.0% | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 24.1% | +4.7% |
| 2014 | 24.3% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 25.4% | +4.6% |
| 2016 | 25.5% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 24.6% | -3.2% |
| 2018 | 24.3% | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 23.4% | -3.4% |
| 2020 | 11.0% | -53.1% |
| 2021 | 9.8% | -10.6% |
| 2022 | 16.9% | +72.2% |
| 2023 | 20.7% | +22.3% |
| 2024 | 21.5% | +4.0% |
| 2025 | 20.3% | -5.6% |
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% | 32.3% | 38.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 25.8% | 21.7% | 32.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.0% | 22.2% | 25.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.7% | 9.8% | 21.5% | 6 |
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 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 30th 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.