NTTO: U.S. Travel and Tourism Exports—August 2026​​

The National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) recently released data showing that in August 2026:

• International visitors spent nearly $19.9 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States during the month of August, a decrease of nearly 5 percent when compared to August 2025.
  
  
• Americans spent more than $19.7 billion traveling abroad during August (up 0.5% compared to last year), yielding a $157 million balance of trade surplus (exports minus imports) for the month and a nearly $5.6 billion surplus year to date.
  
  
• International visitors have spent an estimated $165.0 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services during 2026, a decrease of nearly 1 percent when compared to the same period (January - August) last year; international visitors injected, on average, $679 million a day into the U.S. economy in 2026.

Composition of Monthly Spending (Travel Exports)

Travel Spending

• Purchases of travel and tourism-related goods and services by international visitors traveling in the United States totaled nearly $10.8 billion during August 2026 (compared to $11.8 billion in August 2025), down nearly 9 percent when compared to the previous year. These goods and services include food, lodging, recreation, gifts, entertainment, local transportation in the United States, and other items incidental to foreign travel.
  
  
• Travel receipts accounted for 54 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports in August 2026.

Passenger Fare Receipts

• Fares received by U.S. carriers from international visitors totaled $2.8 billion in August 2026, down 3 percent when compared to August 2025. These receipts represent expenditures by foreign residents on international flights provided by U.S. air carriers.
  
  
• Passenger fare receipts accounted for 14 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports during August.

Medical/Education/Short-Term Worker Spending

• Expenditures for educational and health-related tourism, along with all expenditures by border, seasonal, and other short-term workers in the United States totaled $6.4 billion in August, an increase of more than 3 percent when compared to the previous year.
  
  
• Medical tourism, education, and short-term worker expenditures accounted for 32 percent of total U.S. travel and tourism exports in August 2026.