The spending in the United States by foreign tourists has hit a new record of $168.1 billion in the year 2012 thus making US a hot destination for tourists who are able to spend a lot of money.
The country had sixty six million foreign visitors last year and their spending was ten percent more than in 2011, according to Rebecca Blank who is the US department of commerce deputy secretary. This increase in visitors and their spending mainly came from the countries that have growing middle class population including India, China and Brazil.
Visitors from overseas spend more since they stay longer than the visitors from neighboring countries such as Canada and Mexico. It is estimated that overseas tourists spend an average of $4,000 during a single visit compared to those from Mexico and Canada who spend an average of $1,000 per visit.
Consequently, even though there are more tourists from Canada and Mexico than other countries, the tourism industry and the federal government has been giving more emphasis on overseas tourists. This has also been enhanced by the fact that the number of tourists from Europe has been decreasing in recent years mainly because of the economic hardships.
The US commerce department is anticipating an increase in tourists from China, Brazil and India. Homeland security department and state department have shortened the visa interviews wait time. Furthermore, the commerce department announced that international tourists rose from 59.7 million in 2010 to 62.3 million in 2011. President Obama has also set a target of welcoming one hundred million visitors by 2012 which should consequently create more than one million jobs in the next decade.