Which Countries Travel the Most, and Where Are They Going?

by Michael Nordine

Tourism is on the rise globally, and so is the amount of money travelers are spending. Get Going Travel Insurance has released a study revealing that China and the United States are the world's two top traveling nations — though China, with its massive population of 1.4 billion people, outspends America by quite a bit. Worldwide, tourism expenditures have soared to nearly $1.5 trillion.

Where's Everyone Going?

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As you might imagine, most travelers prefer to stay relatively close to home even when leaving the country. The most frequent destinations for Chinese tourists are Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, while Americans most often visit Mexico and Canada, with the United Kingdom landing as a very distant third.

Then there's the inverse: small countries that receive an inordinate number of visitors. Andorra tops this list, as its population of just 76,953 is dwarfed by the 3,003,000 tourists it welcomed in 2017 — a ratio of 1:39, which handily bests Macau's 1:27 and the N. Mariana Islands' 1:12.

The full study may be found here. As for the top 10 list, feast your eyes on the countries that spend the most on travel:

  1. China ($257.7 billion in tourism expenditures)
  2. The United States ($135 billion)
  3. Germany($89.1 billion)
  4. United Kingdom($71.4 billion)
  5. France ($41.4 billion)
  6. Canada($31.8 billion)
  7. Korea ($30.6 billion)
  8. Italy ($27.7 billion)
  9. Australia ($34.2 billion)
  10. Russia ($31.1 billion)