In 2019, $233.5 billion was spent overseas from 99,744,820 international visits by U.S. citizens; however, due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions, many countries are now suffering from a serious decline in U.S. travelers this year. Travel insurance comparison site InsureMyTrip analyzed data from the U.S National Travel & Tourism Office to find out an estimated number of U.S. visits in 2019 for 30 countries, and how much money restricted countries may be missing out on from this significant decrease in U.S. tourism over six months.
The findings revealed that Italy is potentially the most impacted by a lack of U.S. tourism and could have lost up to $8.3 billion over six months. 5.6 million Americans visited Italy in 2019, according to figures from the Italian government. The Italian National Institute of Statistics projects that 60 percent of businesses in the travel industry fear imminent collapse and many did not reopen once restrictions have been lifted.
France is the second most likely to have been affected, with an estimated loss of $8.2 billion due to the U.S. travel restrictions over a six-month period. 4.8 million Americans arrived in France in 2019 and, in total, there were 90 million international visitors, making it a record year for tourism.
The Bahamas is the only Caribbean island in the top 10, coming in seventh position, with an estimated $3.5 billion loss of income from the lack of U.S. tourism. The Bahamas' move to ban most international travelers, especially Americans, was substantial—although it has since reopened its borders with a set of strict travel protocols. Fifty percent of the nation's GDP comes from tourism, with the majority from United States visitors. In 2019, the Bahamas welcomed their highest number of tourists, including a record 1.45 million from the U.S.
Other countries in the top 10 included (in order): Germany (4), China (5), Japan (6), the Netherlands (8), India (9) and Ireland (10).
Source: InsureMyTrip
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