Meet The Average Tourist From Nine Different Countries

Australian tourists are relatively rich, Chinese tourists are relatively young, and Japanese tourists really like packaged tours.

These are just some of the trends we observed in the latest data on visitors to the United States from the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. Overall, 66.7 million visitors from around the world spent $165.6 billion in the U.S. in 2012. We focused on nine countries with the most visitors.

Australians

1.12 million Australians visited the U.S. in 2012, spending a total of $5.4 billion. For 71% of visitors, the main purpose of their trip was vacation.

The average age of visitors was 42 for males and 41 for females. Australian visitors were the richest on this list, with a median household income of $104,707 - earning more than twice as much as the median Chinese visitor ($40,000). On average, visitors traveled in groups of 1.7 people and stayed in the U.S. for 20.3 nights. They also traveled more extensively in the U.S. than people from the other countries on this list, visiting an average of 2.1 states.

Brazilians

1.79 million Brazilians visited the U.S. in 2012 and spent a total of $9.3 billion. For 69% of visitors, the main purpose of their trip was vacation.

The average Brazilian male visitor was 40 years old, while the average female was 38. The median household income of Brazilian visitors was $66,510. On average, they traveled in groups of 1.8 people, stayed in the U.S. for 15 nights, and visited 1.4 states. Just 22% of Brazilian visitors in 2012 were traveling to the U.S. for the first time, the lowest percentage after Germany (20%) and the United Kingdom (14%).

Canadians

22.7 million Canadians visits the U.S. in 2012 and spent $25.5 billion, representing the largest visitor group. 64% of visitors came for leisure-related purposes, followed by 15% who visited friends or relatives and 11% who came for business.

Canadians traveled in groups of 2.1 people on average, the largest group size among the countries on this list. However, their average stay length was relatively short, at 8.3 nights.

Various data was not available for Canadians, as well as Mexicans, due to the large number of visitors from those places who arrive by road. Data we have listed, however, includes both ground and air arrivals.

Chinese

1.47 million people from China visited the U.S. in 2012, spending $8.8 billion. Unlike visitors from other countries, most Chinese visitors came to the U.S. for a main purpose that wasn't vacation, such as business (19%), education (15%), conventions (14%), and seeing friends and relatives (20%).

Chinese visitors were typically younger than those from other countries, with an average age of 35 for males and 32 for females. Their median household income was the lowest on this list, at $40,000. On average, they traveled in groups of 1.8 people, visited 1.8 states, and stayed in the U.S. for 41.6 nights, much longer than tourists from other countries on this list.

46% of Chinese visitors in 2012 were traveling to the U.S. for the first time, the greatest percentage among countries on this list. Only 70% of Chinese visitors stayed overnight in a hotel or motel at some point during their trip, the lowest percentage among these countries. Conversely, visitors from China's neighbor Japan were the most likely to stay overnight in a hotel or motel at least once, with that being the case for 94% of visitors.

China is also notable because 60% of adults who visited were male. That's the greatest disparity on this list, but only slightly higher than the percentage of adult male visitors from Germany and South Korea (both 59%).

French

1.46 million people from France visited the U.S. in 2012, spending $5.3 billion. For 59%, the main purpose of their trip was vacation.

The average age of male visitors was 40; for females it was 38. Their median household income was $65,787, significantly lower than visitors from the neighboring United Kingdom ($94,185). On average, French visitors traveled in groups of 1.6 people, stayed in the U.S. for 16 nights, and visited 1.6 states.

Germans

1.88 million Germans visited the U.S in 2012, spending $6.9 billion. A relatively small majority (53%) visited for the main purpose of vacation, whereas 18% visited mainly to see friends and relatives, and 16% visited for business.

The average German male visitor was 42 years old, while the average female was 38. Their median household income was $86,398. On average, they stayed in the U.S. for 18.3 nights, and visited 1.7 states. They traveled in groups of only 1.5 people on average, the smallest group size among these countries.

Japanese

3.7 million people from Japan visited the U.S. in 2012, spending $16.5 billion. 72% of them visited for the main purpose of vacation.

The average age of a Japanese male visitor was 44, while the average age for females was 36. Visitors earned a relatively high median household income of $95,475. On average, they traveled in relatively large groups of two people but visited only 1.1 states, making them the least extensively traveled visitors.

Visitors from Japan stayed in the U.S. for an average of only 7.4 nights, the shortest length of stay among the countries on this list. An unusually high number of them purchased a prepaid package for certain items or services on their trip, which may include guided tours, transportation, accommodation, attractions, and more - 51% of Japanese visitors compared to 9% to 28% for other nationalities on this list.

South Koreans

1.25 million South Koreans visited the U.S. in 2012, spending $4.2 billion. For just 49%, the main purpose of their trip was vacation. A relatively large proportion visited for other main reasons, such as visiting friends/relatives (15%), business (12%), education (11%), and conventions (10%).

The average male visitor was 37, while the average female was 34 - the youngest visitors on this list with the exception of China. The median household income was relatively low at $53,177. On average, South Korean visitors traveled in groups of 1.7 people, stayed in the U.S. for 19.3 nights, and visited 1.4 states. 43% of South Koreans in 2012 were traveling to the U.S. for the first time, second only to China (46%).

United Kingdom

3.76 million people from the United Kingdom visited the U.S. in 2012, spending $12.6 billion. 63% visited for the main purpose of vacation.

The average age of a U.K. visitor was 44 years old, and they earned a relatively high median household income of $94,185. On average, they traveled in a group of 1.7 people, stayed in the U.S. for 14.2 nights, and visited 1.4 states.

Visitors from the United Kingdom were the most likely to have made a previous trip to the U.S. Only 14% of visitors in 2012 were traveling to the U.S. for the first time.