Long Visa Queue : Tourism has seen a robust rebound in major markets worldwide. In 2022, Spain managed to recover more than 85% of its pre-pandemic tourist arrivals, and this year has shown a 28% increase over earlier marks. France is closely following with just a 3% dip in year-to-date international visitors compared to pre-Covid-19 times, and their spending has reached record highs, as reported by a government tourism agency.
Long Visa Queue & Statistics Of US Visitors
However, the US is facing challenges in catching up. As of June 2023, international tourist arrivals remain a little over 25% below pre-pandemic levels, with slower spending. By the end of 2022, international visitor spending in the (US) was at almost Hundred Billion dollars, only about half of what it was in 2019. In 2019, the US had received a little shy of 80 million visitors, who collectively spent $181 billion.
In an unprecedented development, the US is experiencing a multiyear travel deficit, where Americans are spending more on their travels abroad than what international tourists are spending within the US.
The US travel industry is facing several challenges, including prolonged waiting times for visas and consistently high hotel rates since travel resumed. These expensive hotel prices are discouraging international travellers, who are concerned about overall travel costs, the strength of the US dollar, and inflation.
Travelers are also grappling with customs delays at airports, and TSA wait times are on the rise. Bloomberg attempted to seek a response from US Customs and Border Protection, but they did not reply in time for publication.
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