Inbound travel to the United States fell again in August. The country received close to 3.1 million international visitors, an 11.8 percent decline from the same month a year earlier, according to National Travel and Tourism Office data released on 17 September 2026.
Skift reported the figure under a headline rounded to 12 percent. The August result follows a 7 percent decline in July.
Arrivals dropped in every region. Africa recorded the largest fall at 25.5 percent, then Central America at 20.6 percent and Western Europe at 14.8 percent.
Year to Date
Skift's account of the NTTO data puts year-to-date international visits down 5.8 percent. Three of the top 20 source markets posted gains: Israel, Taiwan and Poland.
The summer included World Cup visitor numbers below expectations, per the same report.
Federal policy sits at the centre of the industry's explanation. Skift cites bonds of up to $20,000 required of travellers from certain countries among the headwinds industry leaders name.
Canada and the Markers Ahead
Canadian travel is recovering. Skift reports arrivals from Canada up 8.8 percent in August, a fifth straight month of growth, against an escalating U.S.-Canada trade war and a level well below 2024.
Canadian and Mexican figures sit outside the preliminary NTTO data, so the next release carries the cross-border share on its own.
Travel executives are pressing the White House for a 100 million annual international visitor target by 2030. That target runs 46 percent above the 2025 total of 68.3 million. UN Tourism cut its 2025 global growth forecast to 1 to 2 percent from 3 to 4 percent, per Skift.
The Day-Use Read
Inbound arrivals land on the overnight book. hotelSlots defines a day-use room as a booking of typically 6 to 8 hours and prices it at 30 to 75 percent below the nightly rate at the same hotel. Its platform lists 103,857 hotels across 46 states.
Two published figures show the two bands in one market. Dayuse reports an average of $87.43 for a day room in Indianapolis. Engine reports $128 as the average nightly rate in the same city across 1.2 million public rate observations from May 2024 to April 2026, with the year running from a February low of $107 to a May peak of $158.
Three numbers settle the direction for a day-use desk. The next monthly NTTO print carries the overseas markets. The Canada and Mexico release carries the cross-border share. The city average overnight rate carries the band a day rate is priced against.