Overseas visitor spending in the U.S. was highly concentrated, with five states -- New York, California, Florida, Texas and Massachusetts -- capturing nearly 59% of the total, according to newly released 2024 visitor data from the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO).

Collectively, those states drew $99.7 billion in international visitor spending and supported more than 502,000 jobs tied directly to overseas visitation, accounting for roughly 56% of tourism-related employment nationwide. The markets that spent the most in the U.S. were China, India, the U.K., Brazil and South Korea.

The data highlights the dominance of major urban and coastal gateway destinations for overseas traveler arrivals and spending.

New York led in overseas arrivals and spending with more than 9.8 million visitors and $32.1 billion in 2024, followed by California, 6.9 million visitors and $26.9 billion, and Florida, 8.8 million visitors spending $25.2 billion.

However, some destinations had more visitors but less spending. Nevada had 2.6 million overseas visitors who spent just over $5 billion, while Texas had just over 2 million who spent $7.9 billion and Massachusetts' 1.5 million overseas visitors spent $7.7 billion.

The NTTO said those differences are accounted for by factors such as labor costs and labor intensity across the different industries that provide goods and services to overseas visitors. For example, a dollar spent by international visitors could support more jobs in states where visitors spend a greater proportion on food, which is more labor-intensive than many other industries.

Despite the concentration in spending, the benefits of overseas travel still extend beyond the top markets, with international visitors spending more than $1 billion in each of 26 states and U.S. territories, and total overseas visitor spending of $169.8 billion.

NTTO's travel-related spending estimates are derived primarily from its Survey of International Air Travelers (SIAT). The NTTO said this is the first time since 1997 it has estimated the economic impact of overseas visitors for U.S. states and territories.