Visitors from ‘hellholes’ China and India – as they were described in a remark reposted by Trump – are the biggest spenders in the US, says a study conducted by National Travel and Tourism Office that estimated the economic impact of overseas travellers.“Visitor spending by the top 10 overseas countries accounted for 59% of total overseas spending in the US. These 10 countries are: China, India, UK, Brazil, South Korea, Germany, Japan, Australia, Italy and Colombia,” says the NTTO study.These new estimates capture overseas visitor spending on travel-related goods and services in each US state and territory, as well as the local employment supported by this spending,” the study adds. “In 2024, the US welcomed (over) 3.5 crore visitors from overseas (not including land border sharing Canada and Mexico). These visitors spent $169.8 billion in the US on travel-related goods and services, including international student spending on education-related goods and services. This spending directly supported nearly 906,000 jobs for the US economy in 2024,” says the NTTO report. In terms of overseas visitor spending, the top five states — New York, California, Florida, Texas and Massachusetts — collectively received $99.7 billion, accounting for 58.7% of total overseas visitor spending in the US. While India is one of the top overseas markets for inbound visitors to the US, this growth in numbers seen over the past few years has fallen due to several factors such as visa issuance, increased airfare and poorer connectivity.
