International visitors contribute huge economic benefits to U.S.

International visitors spend 164.2 billion U.S. dollars from January to August of this year in the Untied States, said U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday.

International visitors spend 20.8 billion dollars on travel to, and tourism-related activities in the United States in August, making total spending from January to August reach 164.2 billion dollars, said the department.

Conversely, Americans spent an estimated 105.1 billion U.S. dollars abroad during that same time period, contributing to a trade surplus of more than 59 billion dollars, the department said.

"The travel and tourism industry is tremendously important to the national economy," said Ken Hyatt, acting undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade.

"Today's data show that international visitors spent nearly 672 million dollars a day experiencing the United States, solidifying the travel and tourism industry as the number one service export in the country," said Hyatt.

Expenditures for educational and health-related tourism along with expenditures by international short-term workers in the United States have experienced a quick increase in August, reaching more than 4.5 billion U.S. dollars, more than 13 percent higher on an annual basis. Endit