New data released by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) show that overseas visitor arrivals to the U.S. declined in March 2025. The report reveals that international inbound travel remains below pre-pandemic levels despite notable growth in outbound travel by U.S. citizens.
In March 2025, non-U.S. citizen air passenger arrivals from foreign countries totaled 4.541 million, marking a 9.7 percent drop compared to March 2024. Overseas visitor arrivals specifically reached 2.391 million, which is 82.9 percent of what was recorded in March 2019, before the pandemic. This also reflects a slight dip from February 2025, which had reached 84.5 percent of 2019 levels.
By contrast, more Americans took to the skies to travel abroad. U.S. citizen air passenger departures to international destinations totaled 6.557 million in March 2025, up 1.6 percent from the previous year. This figure even surpassed March 2019 levels by a striking 21.9 percent, highlighting a strong demand for outbound international travel.
Leading Travel Destinations and Regional Insights
Despite the overall drop in inbound numbers, air travel between the United States and certain countries remained robust. The top international markets for total air passenger travel (arrivals and departures) in March 2025 were Mexico (3.975 million), Canada (2.8 million), the United Kingdom (1.478 million), the Dominican Republic (997,000), and Japan (952,000).
Regional trends show varied performance. Air travel between the U.S. and Europe totaled 5.244 million passengers, a 1.2 percent decline compared to March 2024 and down slightly (0.4 percent) from March 2019. While U.S. citizen departures to Europe have increased by 17.2 percent since 2019, European citizens traveling to the U.S. have declined by the same percentage.
In the South/Central America and Caribbean region, air traffic reached 6.099 million, down 0.6 percent from March 2024, but up 14 percent compared to March 2019. This growth suggests a steady recovery and a continued appeal for travelers within these regions.
Asia showed a more complex pattern. Total travel between the U.S. and Asia grew by 6.5 percent over March 2024, reaching 2.684 million passengers. However, this was still 13.9 percent below March 2019 levels. Notably, Asian citizen arrivals to the U.S. were down 33.3 percent compared to March 2019, while U.S. citizen departures to Asia rose by 15.1 percent over the same period.
Among U.S. airports serving international travelers, New York’s JFK led the way with 2.675 million passengers. Miami (MIA) followed with 2.228 million, Los Angeles (LAX) with 1.942 million, Atlanta (ATL) with 1.311 million, and San Francisco (SFO) with 1.255 million. On the international side, London Heathrow (LHR) topped the list with 1.333 million travelers to and from the U.S., followed by Cancun (CUN), Toronto (YYZ), Mexico City (MEX), and Paris (CDG).
The timing of Easter—March 31 in 2024 and April 20 in 2025—may have influenced year-over-year comparisons, especially for seasonal travel. Despite this factor, the overall numbers point to a lingering slowdown in inbound tourism to the U.S., even as American travelers continue to explore destinations abroad in greater numbers than before the pandemic.
While total international air passenger traffic to and from the United States reached 22.546 million in March 2025—down just 0.5 percent from March 2024—it still represented 105.7 percent of the pre-pandemic March 2019 volume. The contrast between strong outbound demand and softer inbound recovery highlights a critical trend for the tourism industry to watch in the months ahead.
With overseas visitor arrivals to the U.S. yet to fully rebound, the data signals both progress and persistent challenges for American inbound tourism as it seeks to regain its pre-COVID momentum.
