Propelled by connectivity, US tops preferred travel destinations: Fred Dixon

International tourist arrivals in the United States are set to reach new highs for years to come thanks to a number of key domestic landmark celebrations and a long series global sporting events that begins with the FIFA Football World Cup 2026.

This was announced by Fred Dixon, President and CEO of Brand USA, the destination marketing organisation of the US, at the traditional inaugural Press Conference of Brand USA at the beginning of IPW, the largest inbound travel trade show that formally began in Chicago on Monday morning.

Choose Chicago is playing host to IPW2025 (Photo: Varsha Singh)

In his address, Dixon said that according to Brand USA’s most recent Omnibus Study, the USA remains the Number 1 overall destination travellers are most likely to visit globally in the next year among the markets surveyed.

“International travel intent has increased month-over-month in several key markets, including Japan, France, South Korea and Canada. Notably, Mexico reached its highest intent level since January, while Canada improved for the second month in a row, reversing a sustained period of decline,’’ Dixon said.

Dixon also highlighted the large number of global events that is set to continue to propel tourism to the country. The momentum begins to build this month with the Club World Cup, followed by the Ryder Cup in New York, Super Bowl LX in California, and the World Cup in summer 2026.

B2B meetings began at IPW2025 on Monday (Photo: Varsha Singh)

Dixon said that to support planning, Brand USA has published a number of customised itineraries for the travel trade linking host cities of FIFA Football World Cup and the base camps to surrounding regions and destinations across the country.

“In 2028 and 2034, the US will welcome the world to Los Angeles for the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games and Salt Lake City for the Winter Olympics, respectively. For the first time, the Men’s and Women’s Rugby World Cups will also be held in the US, with cities across the USA hosting the events in 2031 and 2033,” he added.

Ever increasing connectivity to boost tourist arrivals

According to Dixon, a key factor behind rising travel to the US is its excellent connectivity. He said that in 2025, international air connectivity to the US has continued to expand, with more than 853,000 nonstop flights across 1,683 routes connecting 249 cities in 262 airports around the world to 84 US airports in 74 cities. Though the US was already the most well-connected country, there has been a rise in the number of new routes enhancing its connectivity even further, he added.

Some notable new routes include Orlando–Paris by Air France, Nashville–Dublin by Aer Lingus and San Francisco–Adelaide by United. This year alone, 44 new nonstop routes from 26 countries are launching, contributing over 1.6 million additional seats into US gateways, added Dixon in his presentation.

In his address, Dixon added that in Fiscal Year 2024, Brand USA’s marketing efforts generated 1.6 million incremental international visitors, nearly USD 6 billion in additional visitor spending, and supported close to 80,000 American jobs. These efforts produced USD 1.7 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue, contributing to nearly USD 13 billion in total economic impact across the country.