International visitor numbers to the U.S. continue to climb

Marking the 12th straight month of increasing visitation numbers, the U.S. welcomed 5.4 million international visitors in March, a 14% increase over the same period last year, according to federal statistics.

The report released Thursday by the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries said most of the visitors came from Canada and Mexico but the biggest rate of increase in visitors came from China.

In March, Canada produced over 2 million visitors to the U.S., a 6% increase over March 2011. Mexico generated slightly more than 1 million visitors in March, a 17% increase over the same period last year, according to the federal agency.

But the U.S. hosted 85,563 visitors from China in March, a 55% increase over the same month last year.

Also growing by double-digit rates are visitors from Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Germany and the U.K., according to the latest numbers.

Los Angeles was the third most popular port of entry for international visitors, behind Miami and New York.

The report does not include an analysis of the numbers but tourism industry leaders have attributed the increase in travel to a strengthening economy in countries like China, Australia and Brazil.

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