The Most Visited Countries In The Americas

For those arriving into the U.S. via New York City, Manhattan's bustling Times Square is often one of the first sights they see.
For those arriving into the U.S. via New York City, Manhattan's bustling Times Square is often one of the first sights they see.

America is one of the most visited continents in the world. Both North and South America has served tourist with a bouquet of attraction sites. Every year millions of tourists visit various countries in America either for holiday or business. America has both natural and man-made tourist attraction sites, which are listed as world heritage sites. Some of the common natural tourist attraction sites include beaches, national parks, rainforests, and desert plains. Museums, magnificent cities, casinos, hotels, and colonial buildings are some of the man-made tourist attraction sites.

The Most Visited Countries In The Americas

United States

The United States recorded a total of 75 million visitors bringing in revenue of $1.47 trillion in 2014. Being a diverse country, the U.S. attracts both local and international tourists with its amazing tourist destinations. Almost every place or city has something special that will attract tourist. Thousands of people troop to New York Grand Terminal not to catch a train but to enjoy Oyster Bar services and Campbell Apartment cocktails. Empire State building and museum in New York City are also major tourist attraction destination. In Orlando, thousands of tourists are received at Disney world every year while gaming tourists prefer to visit Les Vegas Night clubs and casinos. Mt Haleakala, beaches and rainforests around Maui offer vacation destination for the nature lovers. Other tourist attraction sites in the US include Denali (Mount McKinley), the Florida Keys, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Manhattan. A majority of the tourists who visited the U.S. were from Mexico, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Mexico

Mexico is one of the most visited countries in the world and the second most visited in America after the United States. Some of the tourist attraction sites in Mexico include Meso-American ruins, Frida Kahlo Museum, reef and beaches, Pyramid of the Sun, mariachi music, colonial cities, bars and party scenes among other tourists’ attraction sites.In 2014 Mexico recorded a total of 29.1 million tourists mostly from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The government of Mexico has favorable tourism policies that have promoted tourism in the country.

Canada

Tourism sector in Canada supports large domestic and international tourists. Canada has a variety of geographical features that are paramount to the tourism industry. Canada’s tourism is spread across its four biggest cities including Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal. The country’s culture, national parks, and historic sites are some of the major tourist attraction points. Some of the common destinations in Canada include Niagara Falls, Stanley Park, Granville Island, and the National Parliament Building. A total of 16.5 million tourists visited Canada in 2014 with most of the visitors coming from the United States, the United Kingdom, and China.

Brazil

Tourism is a vital sector of Brazil’s economy. In 2014 the country generated $7 billion from tourism with a total of 6.4 million tourists visiting the various tourist attraction sites. Foreign tourists mainly came from the countries that participated in 2014 world cup including Argentina, Russia, Belgium, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, and Africa. Rio de Janeiro is the most visited place in Brazil. Other tourist attraction sites include colonial houses in Salvador, Panoramic tower, beaches, and Museums.

Tourism and its Economic Effects

Tourism is a primary source of revenue for the destination country. Revenues from tourism sector can be used to develop other areas such as transport, health, and education. Tourism also leads to cultural diversification. International tourists get to learn the culture of the country they visit and have some influence on locals. Tourism has created millions of jobs especially for tour operators, hotels, and the whole hospitality industry.

The Most Visited Countries In The Americas

RankCountryInternational tourist arrivals (2014)
1 United States74.7 million
2 Mexico29.1 million
3 Canada16.5 million
4 Brazil6.4 million
5 Argentina5.9 million
6 Dominican Republic5.1 million
7 Chile3.6 million
8 Puerto Rico3.2 million
9 Peru3.2 million
10 Colombia2.6 million
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