International Travel to the U.S. Declines Sharply in 2026
New data from the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) reveals further signs of a slowdown in the U.S. travel and tourism sector, with overseas visitor arrivals falling by more than 14% in April 2026.
International arrivals reached only 73.5% of the levels recorded in April 2019 before the pandemic, highlighting that the United States has yet to fully recover its global tourism market seven years later. Ongoing geopolitical tensions, including the U.S.-Israel conflict involving Iran, along with wider global challenges, may be adding further pressure ahead of major international events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Meanwhile, U.S. international air traffic passenger enplanements — representing travelers flying between the United States and other countries — declined by 3.5% in April to 21.3 million passengers. Despite the decline, air traffic remained slightly above pre-pandemic levels at 101.3% of 2019 totals.
Non-U.S. citizen arrivals by air totaled 4.5 million in April, marking a 9.8% decrease compared to the same month in 2025.
For the full year 2025, international arrivals to the United States were already down 5.5% compared to 2024, and the latest April figures suggest the downward trend is continuing and becoming more severe.
From January through April 2026, overseas visitation declined 4.3% year-over-year.
Economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions also affected outbound travel from the United States. Although outbound travel volumes remain more than 20% above pre-pandemic levels, they still declined 2% compared to April last year.
Travel demand between the U.S. and several major markets weakened notably. Air travel between the U.S. and Mexico dropped 9.2% year-over-year, while travel to and from Canada declined 3.6%. Travel between the U.S. and the United Kingdom decreased 3.4%, and U.S.-Europe travel fell 1.5%. The sharpest decline came from the Middle East, where travel volumes plunged 44.5%.
However, some regions recorded growth in April, with travel between the United States and the Caribbean, Japan, the Dominican Republic, and parts of Asia all showing increases.
