SelectUSA Travel, Tourism & Hospitality Industry
Industry Overview
According to the National Travel and Tourism Office, expenditures by international visitors in the United States were $213.1 billion in 2023, and the U.S. received the over 66 million international visitors. Travel exports supported 1.6 million U.S. jobs in 2023. That same year, U.S. travel exports represented 7 percent of the total U.S. exports of goods and services.
In 2023, the total FDI in the U.S. accommodations industry was $7.4 billion. In 2022, foreign-owned businesses employed 41,500 workers in the accommodations industry. According to the latest figures for U.S. employment, there were over 1.9 million employees in the accommodations industry in mid-2024. There were also 71,387 establishments in the accommodations industry across the United States in 2022.
Around $22 billion was invested from around the world in the U.S. food services and drinking places industry in 2023, and foreign-owned businesses employed 602,400 people in 2022. According to the latest employment figures, there were over 12.3 million people employed in the food services and drinking places industry in mid-2024. In 2022, there were 700,469 establishments in the food services and drinking places industry.
There was $371 million in foreign direct investment into the U.S. air transportation industry in 2021, and foreign-owned businesses in the air transportation industry employed 9,200 people in 2022. According to the latest employment figures, there were over 575,000 employees in the air transportation industry in mid-2024. As of 2022, there were 4,645 establishments in the air transportation industry.
Explore the impact of foreign direct investment on U.S. jobs, exports, and innovation in the travel, tourism, and hospitality industry.
The Investor Guide is a high-level view of everything from taxes to immigration and workforce to business structures.
SelectUSA has created several dashboards to help analyze key FDI data from a variety of sources.
