The US is on track to attract 90 million visitors by 2026, a year ahead of the State Department’s goal, according to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
Raimondo discussed the projected visitor boom at a press conference on Tuesday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, where both addressed the economic benefits of tourism for the US and the ongoing recovery of the sector after the pandemic.
“By next year, we project that the industry will be fully recovered from Covid,” Raimondo said.
However, visitor spending, when adjusted for inflation, is not expected to fully recover until 2026. The US had about 66.5 million international tourists in 2023, up from nearly 51 million the previous year.
Blinken said the State Department has made significant progress in reducing wait times for visitor visas, which has been a priority for the US travel industry as the country prepares to host the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the Summer Olympics in 2028.
“The wait time for obtaining visas has dropped by nearly 60% since the acute phase of the pandemic,” Blinken said. “Today, the average wait time is less than 60 days for a first-time visitor visa interview.”
Blinken added that the State Department issued 8.5 million visitor visas during fiscal year 2024, the highest number since 2016, when the department issued 6.9 million visitor visas.