Int'l travelers spent $222.3 billion in U.S. last year

Last year set a new record for overseas visitor spending on travel to and in the U.S.—$222.3 billion. About $43 billion was spent on getting here, while the other $179 billion paid for hotels, in-U.S. travel, admissions, meals, etc. That's up from $215 billion the year before, according to Federal government figures.

Looking in the other direction, American spent about $147 billion on overseas travel, giving the U.S. a trade surplus of about $75 billion in this category. Maybe more, since part of that $147 billion stayed home in the form of fares paid to U.S. carriers. The L.A. Times has MORE