The top countries sending international visitors to Nashville

Mayor John Cooper joined more than 40 mayors from cities across the country last week to urge the U.S. State Department to address pandemic-related backlogs and speed up the visitor visa process for would-be international travelers.

Zoom in: The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. provided an estimate that the city will see 326,000 international visitors in 2023. An even higher tally of 427,000 is forecasted to visit next year.

Those numbers include international visitors regardless of whether or not they would need a visa. But NCVC CEO Butch Spyridon tells Axios expedited visas are critical to maximizing tourism.

• "As we look to grow our industry, the international market is prime territory for Nashville," Spyridon says. "Two factors are critical to our future success: Increased international air service and easier, faster access to visas."

According to Tourism Economics data provided to Axios by the NCVC, these countries are the top drivers of international tourism to Nashville.

1. Canada
2. United Kingdom
3. Germany
4. Mexico
5. Australia
6. France
7. India
8. Ireland
9. Italy
10. South Korea