Anger towards the Trump Administration’s tariffs and rhetoric is expected to lead to a further decline in international travel to the U.S. compared to initial forecasts this year, according to a prominent travel forecasting company stated on Tuesday.
Tourism Economics predicts a decrease of 9.4% in foreign visitors arriving in the U.S. this year, almost double the 5% drop they forecasted in February.
At the start of the year, Tourism Economics had anticipated a robust year for international travel to the U.S., projecting a 9% increase in visits from 2024.
However, Tourism Economics President Adam Sacks attributed the expected drop to high-profile detentions of European tourists at the U.S. border, tariffs imposed by the U.S., strained relations with Canada and Greenland, as well as President Trump’s heated exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, all of which have deterred potential international travelers.
Sacks stated, “With each policy development, each rhetorical misstep, we observe repeated blunders by the administration that directly affect international travel to the U.S.”
This decline is expected to have adverse effects on various sectors including airlines, hotels, national parks, and other sites popular with tourists.
Tourism Economics projects a sharp 20% decline in travel from Canada, impacting border states like New York and Michigan, as well as prominent tourist destinations such as California, Nevada, and Florida.
The U.S. Travel Association has also raised concerns, warning that even a 10% decrease in Canadian travel could result in 2 million fewer visits, a $2.1 billion loss in spending, and the loss of 14,000 jobs, according to a statement from February.
Other companies in the travel industry have also reported concerning trends. During its annual shareholder meeting, Air Canada announced that bookings to the U.S. had decreased by 10% for the April-September period compared to the same period last year.
Sacks expects a $9 billion reduction in spending by foreign visitors to the U.S. compared to the 9.1% increase in international tourism in 2024.
Sacks pointed out the irony that while tariffs are intended to rectify the trade deficit, they are actually harming the trade balance by discouraging international travelers from visiting and spending money in the U.S.
He further stated that international arrivals were nearing pre-coronavirus pandemic levels before the recent declines, and now they won’t likely return to those levels until 2029.
Source: https://time.com/7273576/tourism-economics-travel-us-visitors-forecast-drop-trump-foreign-policy/
