International tourism is a business worth around $1.6 trillion a year, and a surprisingly small group of countries collects most of it. In 2024 the United States alone earned $215 billion from foreign visitors, more than Spain and the United Kingdom made together.
But the map of who earns the most looks very different from the map of who gets the most visitors. France welcomes more international tourists than any country on Earth, yet it ranks only fourth in receipts and earns the least money per visitor of any major destination.
This post maps three things: who earns the most from tourism, who squeezes the most value out of each arrival, and which economies lean on tourism more than anywhere else.
Key Takeaways
- The US earns more than anyone, by far. The United States collected about $215 billion from international visitors in 2024, more than the next two countries (Spain and the UK) combined.
- The money is highly concentrated. The top 16 destinations take in roughly $1.0 trillion, around 63% of all global tourism receipts. Most of the world earns comparatively little.
- Volume is not the same as value. France is the most-visited country on Earth but earns only about $755 per arrival. The US earns roughly $2,970 per visitor and the UK about $2,020.
- For some economies, tourism is everything. In Vanuatu, Macao and the Maldives, tourism makes up 85% to 91% of all export earnings.
- Tourism has fully recovered. Global receipts have climbed back above their pre-pandemic 2019 peak, led by the United States, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The World’s Biggest Tourism Earners (2024)
International tourism receipts measure the money that foreign visitors spend inside a country: hotels, restaurants, tours, shopping and local transport. It is one of the largest and most invisible export industries in the world.
The United States leads comfortably with $215 billion, powered by long-haul, high-spending visitors. Spain is a distant second at $106.5 billion, followed by the United Kingdom ($84.5B) and France ($77.1B).
Europe is the clear centre of gravity: eight of the top 16 earners are European. But the list is more global than the arrivals rankings suggest, with the United Arab Emirates ($57B), Japan ($54.7B), Australia ($52B) and Thailand ($50B) all clearing the $50 billion mark.
Volume Isn’t Value: What Each Visitor Is Worth
Counting visitors and counting money are two very different things. Divide a country’s receipts by its arrivals and a new ranking appears, one that rewards long, high-spending trips over sheer footfall.
The United States tops this list at roughly $2,970 per arrival, followed by the United Kingdom at about $2,020. Both attract fewer visitors than France or Spain, but those visitors tend to stay longer, travel farther and spend more.
France sits at the bottom of the major destinations at around $755 per arrival. It draws enormous numbers of short-stay and neighbouring-country visitors, many of whom pass through on the way somewhere else. High arrivals do not automatically mean high earnings.
Where Tourism Is the Whole Economy
For the giants of tourism, visitor spending is one industry among many. For a cluster of small island and micro-states, it is close to the entire export economy.
In Vanuatu, Macao and the Maldives, tourism accounts for 85% to 91% of all export earnings. Caribbean economies such as Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba and the Bahamas are close behind.
This concentration is a double-edged sword. It brings jobs and hard currency, but it also leaves these economies acutely exposed to anything that stops people flying, from a pandemic to a hurricane season.
Full Ranking: Top Tourism Earners in 2024
The table below lists the leading destinations by international tourism receipts, alongside their visitor arrivals and how much each arrival is worth.
| # | Country | Receipts (US$ bn) | Arrivals (mln) | Per arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 215.0 | 72.4 | $2,970 |
| 2 | Spain | 106.5 | 93.8 | $1,135 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 84.5 | 41.8 | $2,020 |
| 4 | France | 77.1 | 102.0 | $755 |
| 5 | Italy | 58.7 | 57.8 | $1,015 |
| 6 | United Arab Emirates | 57.0 | – | – |
| 7 | Turkey | 56.3 | 60.6 | $930 |
| 8 | Japan | 54.7 | 36.9 | $1,480 |
| 9 | Australia | 52.0 | – | – |
| 10 | Canada | 51.4 | – | – |
| 11 | Thailand | 50.0 | 35.5 | $1,400 |
| 12 | China | 40.2 | 30.5 | $1,300 |
| 13 | Germany | 37.5 | 37.5 | $1,000 |
| 14 | Mexico | 28.0 | 45.0 | $620 |
| 15 | Austria | 23.5 | 26.0 | $905 |
| 16 | Greece | 21.7 | 36.0 | $600 |
Receipts and arrivals: UN Tourism (UNWTO), 2024. Per-arrival value is receipts divided by arrivals; an en dash means arrivals were not separately reported.
How Tourism Receipts Are Measured
“International tourism receipts” is the money non-resident visitors spend in a country, as tracked in its balance of payments by UN Tourism (UNWTO). It counts spending on accommodation, food, entertainment, shopping and local transport, but not the international airfare paid to a foreign airline.
Because a strong exchange rate can inflate a country’s dollar figure and a weak one can deflate it, year-to-year comparisons are best read alongside local-currency changes and visitor numbers. The 2024 figures here reflect the latest full-year data, with tourism now back above its pre-pandemic peak.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country earns the most from tourism?
The United States earns the most, with about $215 billion in international tourism receipts in 2024, ahead of Spain ($106.5B) and the United Kingdom ($84.5B).
Why does France earn less than Spain if it has more tourists?
France receives more visitors than any country on Earth, but many are short-stay or in transit from neighbouring countries. Spain, the US and the UK attract longer, higher-spending stays, so they earn more even with fewer arrivals.
How much does global tourism earn in total?
International tourism generated around $1.6 trillion in receipts in 2024, having recovered above its pre-pandemic 2019 level.
What is the difference between tourist arrivals and tourism receipts?
Arrivals count the number of people who visit. Receipts count the money those visitors spend. A country can rank high on one and low on the other, as France does.
Which countries depend most on tourism?
Small island and micro-states depend most heavily on tourism. In Vanuatu, Macao and the Maldives it makes up 85% to 91% of total export earnings.
Tourism receipts, arrivals and per-arrival figures are drawn from the following sources:
