U.S. Department of Commerce National Tourism: 2.59 million Chinese traveled to the U.S. in 2015

Data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Tourism Office showed that the United States welcomed a total of 77.51 million overseas tourists in 2015, of which 2,591,333 were Chinese tourists, an increase of 18% over 2014.

Canadian and Mexican tourists still ranked first and second in 2015. South Korean tourists were the fastest growing group in 2015, increasing by 21%.

In addition, the number of Taiwanese tourists visiting the United States in 2015 was 414,269, an increase of 6% over the previous year. The number of group tours from Asia decreased in 2015, while the number of independent travelers increased.

The main purpose of international tourists to the United States is leisure travel, followed by business travel and visiting relatives and friends. In 2015, 70.7% of Chinese tourists to the United States were for leisure travel and 12.6% for business travel. The number of Chinese leisure tourists increased by 21% over the previous year, ranking fourth among overseas leisure tourists; the number of Chinese leisure tourists increased by 8% over the previous year.

Most popular states and cities for international tourists

New York State has been the most popular destination for international tourists for 15 consecutive years. In 2015, New York State welcomed 10.39 million international tourists, an increase of 2%, but the proportion of international tourists in New York State decreased from 29% in 2014 to 27.1%. Florida ranked second, with a record high of 9.7 million international tourists, an increase of 12%.

Ranked third to tenth are California, Nevada, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois, Guam and Arizona.

The cities in the United States ranked from most to least number of international tourists arriving are New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Washington DC, Chicago and Boston.

Hotels.com, a leading global online hotel service provider, released its latest "China Traveler Overseas Travel Survey Report" after conducting a survey on Chinese travelers. The report shows that among the top ten most popular overseas travel destinations for Chinese travelers in 2015, Las Vegas, New York, and Los Angeles ranked sixth, seventh, and ninth respectively.

China is the second largest source of tourism revenue for the United States

According to Voice of America, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) under the U.S. Congress released a research report on July 25 saying that China's international tourism industry has developed rapidly in the past 20 years, and the United States is a major beneficiary.

The report said that in 2015, tourism accounted for 57% of US service exports to China and 15% of US total trade exports to China. At the same time, the proportion of Chinese tourists to the United States in China's international tourism expenditure has increased nearly fivefold from about 3% in 2005 to about 13%. The report said that China is the second largest source of US tourism revenue, and from the perspective of tourism categories, the United States has become the preferred destination for Chinese education and medical tourism.

The report also mentioned that along with the increase in the number of Chinese tourists to the United States, China's investment in the U.S. hotel industry has shown a rapid growth trend, among which Chinese insurance companies are the main investors, with the aim of diversifying their asset portfolio by acquiring some stable foreign assets.

Chinese tourists' overseas spending to exceed UK, Germany and France combined by 2025

The Financial Times reported that a report found that the scale of China's international tourists will expand as millennials join the middle class, and it is expected that by 2025, their overseas travel spending may exceed the total of international tourists from Germany, Britain and France.

As Chinese tourists rise to dominate the international tourism market, revenue from Chinese tourists will reach a total of $255.4 billion in 2025, up 86% from $137 billion in 2015, according to research by consulting firm Oxford Economics and payments company Visa.

The "China Travel Overseas Survey Report" shows that Chinese millennial travelers spend 27% of their income on travel, the highest among all Chinese travelers. According to the report, China's millennial travelers (under 35 years old) have increased by 12% compared to 2014, slightly higher than the growth rate of overall Chinese travelers (11%).