International tourism is when you travel to different countries. srgause is incorrect about internal tourism. Internal tourism is actually a recognized economic concept. Definition: Internal tourism is the tourism of visitors, both resident and non-resident, within the economic territory of the country of reference.

In the travel industry, internal tourism and external tourism (more commonly called international tourism) are categorized by the relationship between the traveler's residency and the destination's borders. Internal tourism comprises two main groups: Domestic Tourism (residents traveling within their own country) and Inbound Tourism (non-residents traveling within the country). It represents the total tourism activity occurring inside a specific country's borders. External (International) tourism, on the other hand, refers to the movement across international borders; it consists of Inbound Tourism plus Outbound Tourism (residents traveling to a different country). For a country like 2026 Spain, "Internal Tourism" would count a Spaniard visiting Madrid and an American visiting Madrid, while "International Tourism" would count the American visiting Madrid and a Spaniard visiting New York. This distinction is vital for government high-fidelity economic reporting, as it separates purely local economic shifts from the influx of foreign currency.