A record 62 million foreigners visited the US last year, spending $153 billion on travel and tourism-related services.

Releasing tourism industry data for 2011, the Commerce Department said spending by domestic as well as international tourists grew 8.1 per cent in 2011, “supporting an additional 103,000 jobs for a total of 7.6 million.”

“A big factor in the increase was a surge in international visitors to our country: in 2011, 62 million international visitors came to the United States, an increase of 2.5 million from the year before,” it said.

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