Massachusetts Dominates New England Tourism—Here’s Who Trails Behind

Burlington, Vermont, has an international airport, but does the Green Mountain State draw more international tourists than the five other New England States? The short answer is no. Not even close.

According to Visual Capitalist, Vermont receives fewer overseas tourists than any other New England state.

Popular folklore had it that there are more cows than people in Vermont, but according to WPTZ-TV 5, that's just simply not true. According to the station, the Vermont Department of Health reported last fall that for every 1,000 people in Vermont, there are 330 cows.

Massachusetts Leads the Region by a Wide Margin

According to data cited by Visual Capitalist, Massachusetts has more international visitors than the other New England states, with 1,501,000 annual foreign tourist visits.

Massachusetts ranks seventh nationwide in international tourist arrivals, including Puerto Rico and Guam.

How the Rest of New England Compares

After Massachusetts, Connecticut is the second-most visited New England state by international visitors (320,000), ranking the Constitution State 24th nationally.

Third in New England is Maine (127,000), ranked 35th overall, followed by Rhode Island (105,000), ranked 37th overall.

Fifth place in New England goes to New Hampshire (81,000), 40th overall in international tourist arrivals, followed by Vermont in sixth place (77,000), 42nd overall.

Taken together, an estimated 2,211,000 foreign tourists visit New England annually, based on 2024 data compiled by Visual Capitalist.

What Draws Tourists to Each New England State

Each state has its special attractions. People travel halfway around the world to see Plymouth Rock or Boston's Public Garden in Massachusetts, Del's Lemonade or the Dark Shadows mansion in Rhode Island, Bernie Sanders' house(s) in Vermont, a Maine moose, Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, and Connecticut's Gillette Castle.

Perhaps some make their way to New Bedford, the City by the Sea, a wonderful place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there.