(FORTUNE Magazine) – No matter where you shop, you won't find America's new No. 1 export anywhere overseas. It's tourism. Foreigners spent a record $43 billion last year on U.S. vacations and business trips, about $450 million more than Americans spent abroad -- the first-ever travel surplus. The anemic dollar has helped to make the U.S. the playground of choice for many vacationing Europeans. A British couple, for example, need shed $340 a night at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Florida, half as much as a stay at the comparable Hotel Splendido in Italy's Portofino. And while New York City, the Disney playgrounds, and the like head the list for most first-time tourists, another America beckons those on repeat visits. One perennial favorite: Graceland, Elvis Presley's home-cum-shrine in Memphis. Proximity is important too. Canadians and Mexicans accounted for 64% of all visitors last year. But the three million visiting Japanese spent the most: $7.7 billion. Some American hoteliers are taking special pains to please foreign guests: The New York Hilton offers a Japanese breakfast of raw eggs, fermented beans, and dried seaweed, served buffet-style for $14.50.