Travel spending statistics show how strongly international travel contributes to household spending, visitor economies, and cross-border services. In 2024, UK residents spent an estimated £78.7 billion on 94.6 million visits abroad, while overseas residents spent £31.6 billion on 42.6 million completed visits to the UK. Canadian residents spent $52.9 billion abroad, and visitors to Canada generated $28.5 billion in spending. U.S. travel exports were $52.407 billion in the first quarter of 2024 alone.
Travel spending statistics at a glance
- United Kingdom inbound and outbound spending
- UK purposes and destinations
- Canadian outbound travel spending
- Canadian inbound spending and categories
- U.S. international travel services
- U.S. quarterly travel spending
- How to read these statistics
United Kingdom inbound and outbound spending
The UK figures illustrate the scale of both sides of international travel. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), overseas residents made 42.6 million completed visits to the UK and spent an estimated £31.6 billion in 2024. UK residents made 94.6 million visits abroad and spent an estimated £78.7 billion during the same year. These are current-pound estimates, and the ONS describes the 2024 figures as official statistics in development that combine two survey designs. Visit counts represent completed visits, not unique travelers. (Travel trends: 2024)
The 2023 ONS results provide a useful earlier benchmark. Overseas residents made 38.0 million visits to the UK and spent £31.1 billion. UK residents made 86.2 million visits abroad and spent £72.4 billion. On overseas visits to the UK, average spending was £819 per visit and £106 per day. UK residents spent an average of £840 per visit abroad and £81 per day. The per-visit and per-day measures should not be treated as directly interchangeable: the two sides describe different visitor populations and travel patterns. (Travel trends: 2023)
| UK measure | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Overseas visits to the UK | 38.0 million | 42.6 million completed visits |
| Overseas spending in the UK | £31.1 billion | £31.6 billion estimated |
| UK residents’ visits abroad | 86.2 million | 94.6 million |
| UK residents’ spending abroad | £72.4 billion | £78.7 billion estimated |
The leading source markets for Great Britain in 2024 included the United States, with 5.5 million visits, followed by France with 3.5 million and Germany with 3.2 million. These are visit totals, so they describe trips rather than distinct people. (Travel trends: 2024)
UK purposes and destinations
Travel purpose is a major part of the UK spending picture. In 2023, overseas residents spent £14.9 billion on holiday visits to the UK and £8.1 billion on visits to friends or relatives. For UK residents traveling abroad, holiday spending reached £50.0 billion, while visits to friends or relatives accounted for £13.9 billion. (Travel trends: 2023)
Europe dominated UK residents’ outbound visit geography. European countries received 66.7 million visits from UK residents in 2023, representing 77% of all visits abroad. Spain alone accounted for 17.8 million visits, or 21%, and France accounted for 9.2 million, or 11%. UK residents made another 4.5 million visits to North America and about 15.0 million visits to countries outside Europe and North America. (Travel trends: 2023)
The UK’s inbound spending is also concentrated in major urban destinations. London received 20.3 million overseas overnight visits in 2023. Edinburgh received 2.3 million overseas overnight visits, making it the most visited UK town or city outside London on this measure. Overnight-visit counts indicate destination demand; they do not by themselves measure how much each destination received in spending. (Travel trends: 2023)
Canadian outbound travel spending
Statistics Canada reported that Canadian residents took 38.7 million trips abroad and spent $52.9 billion while traveling abroad in 2024. These figures use Canadian dollars as published and describe spending during trips abroad rather than a converted international comparison. (The Daily — National Travel Survey, fourth quarter 2024)
The fourth quarter gives a more detailed view of destinations and purposes. Canadian residents took 9.309 million trips abroad and recorded $11.833 billion in expenditures in Q4 2024. The United States accounted for 6.608 million of those trips and $5.624 billion in spending. Overseas destinations accounted for 2.701 million trips and $6.209 billion in spending.
Purpose mattered within both destination groups. Canadian residents spent $3.572 billion on holiday, leisure, or recreation trips to the United States in Q4 2024. They spent $4.407 billion on overseas holiday, leisure, or recreation trips. Overseas trips to visit friends or relatives accounted for $958 million, while overseas business trips accounted for $441 million. (The Daily — National Travel Survey, fourth quarter 2024)
Canadian overseas trips were relatively long and high-spending in this quarter. Average spending was $2,299 per overseas trip, with an average stay of 13.2 nights. The average is a reported survey estimate for overseas trips in Q4 2024, not a universal budget for every Canadian traveler. (The Daily — National Travel Survey, fourth quarter 2024)
Canadian inbound spending and categories
Visitors from abroad took 29.8 million trips to Canada in 2024. U.S. residents accounted for 78.7% of visitor trips and $15.6 billion in spending. Overseas residents accounted for 21.3% of visitor trips and $12.9 billion in spending. The difference between trip share and spending share reflects the fact that visitor groups can have different trip lengths and spending patterns. (Tourism activity, 2024)
The category mix also differed between Canadian domestic visitors and visitors from abroad. For Canadian visitors’ domestic travel spending, transportation represented 34.3%, food and beverages 25.8%, accommodations 21.6%, recreation and entertainment 9.4%, and clothing and gifts 3.7%. For visitors from abroad, accommodations represented 35.8%, food and beverages 26.6%, transportation 13.2%, recreation and entertainment 11.8%, and clothing and gifts 9.7%. (Tourism activity, 2024)
| Spending category | Canadian domestic visitors | Visitors from abroad in Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 34.3% | 13.2% |
| Food and beverages | 25.8% | 26.6% |
| Accommodations | 21.6% | 35.8% |
| Recreation and entertainment | 9.4% | 11.8% |
| Clothing and gifts | 3.7% | 9.7% |
Quarterly visitor measures show the role of trip duration. In Q4 2024, U.S. visitors spent $3.0 billion in Canada, averaging $610 per trip and 3.2 nights per trip. Overseas visitors spent $2.0 billion, averaging $1,654 per trip and 14.7 nights per trip. The two averages are reported in Canadian dollars and apply to their respective visitor groups. (The Daily — National Travel Survey, fourth quarter 2024)
U.S. international travel services
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reports international travel within services trade. U.S. services exports totaled $1,107.8 billion in 2024, and the increase in services exports included a $26.3 billion rise in travel exports. U.S. services imports totaled $814.4 billion, with travel imports increasing by $19.2 billion. The annual figures are current-dollar services totals; the reported travel changes are increases, not total travel-export or travel-import levels. (U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, December and Annual 2024)
In Q4 2024, U.S. services exports reached $287.1 billion. BEA said the increase reflected travel, mostly other personal travel. U.S. services imports reached $211.0 billion in the quarter, with the increase also reflecting travel, mostly other personal travel. These quarterly services totals are broader than travel alone, so they should not be presented as quarterly travel spending totals. (U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, December and Annual 2024)
U.S. quarterly travel spending
BEA’s first-quarter 2024 international-transactions data provides a direct quarterly travel breakdown. All amounts below are seasonally adjusted millions of U.S. dollars and cover travel for all purposes, including education. U.S. travel exports were $52.407 billion: $10.404 billion in business travel and $42.003 billion in personal travel. U.S. services exports overall were $271.034 billion. (SCB, A Look at the U.S. International Transactions, July 2024)
On the import side, U.S. travel imports were $43.323 billion in Q1 2024. Business-travel imports were $4.353 billion, and personal-travel imports were $38.971 billion. U.S. services imports overall were $197.824 billion. The export and import categories are not a measure of U.S. household spending alone: they capture international travel transactions in the balance-of-payments framework. (SCB, A Look at the U.S. International Transactions, July 2024)
BEA notes an important coverage boundary: travel excludes international air passenger services, which are recorded in transport. That means travel-service figures should not be interpreted as every dollar associated with an international trip, particularly when air passenger services are separated into another services category. (SCB, A Look at the U.S. International Transactions, July 2024)
How to read these statistics
These figures are not a single global spending series. They combine current-dollar official statistics from national statistical systems, with currencies retained as published and no currency conversion. A pound, Canadian dollar, and U.S. dollar therefore remain separate measures.
The units also vary. ONS reports completed visits and estimated spending; Statistics Canada reports trips and visit expenditures; BEA reports services-trade transactions. Quarterly BEA amounts are seasonally adjusted, while the Canadian quarterly figures are presented as trip counts, expenditures, averages, and nights. Comparing them requires keeping the geography, period, currency, unit, and coverage in view.
Finally, a visit is not necessarily a unique traveler, and spending per trip is not spending per day. Length of stay helps explain why overseas visitors to Canada averaged $1,654 per trip in Q4 2024 while U.S. visitors averaged $610, just as the ONS reported different UK spending averages per visit and per day in 2023. These distinctions make the statistics more useful for comparing travel markets without turning separate official measures into an unsupported ranking.