Tourist travel to the United States falls due to fear of Trump
The United States is experiencing a significant decline in tourism, especially from Canada and Europe.
WashingtonThe first three months of Donald Trump's administration are already beginning to be felt in the American tourism sector.aggressive anti-visa campaign, ideological persecution and arbitrary detentions at the border of tourists with legal documents are already beginning to be noticed in the figures of foreign visits in 2025. A study published by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) indicates that the United States is on track to lose 12.5 billion 169 billion dollars compared to 181 billion in 2024.
The projected decrease in visits represents a drop of 22.5% compared to the maximum expenditure that international tourism made in the US in 2019 (217.4 billion dollars). Arrests such as that of British tourist Rebecca Burke or Germans Jessica Brösche and Lucas Sielaff are discouraging many travelers from visiting the country for fear of suffering the same fate or experiencing other problems.
Just days after Trump arrived in the Oval Office, international visitor data already began to experience significant declines. In March, the number of foreign visitors to the US was already down 11.6% year-over-year, including a 17.2% drop in people traveling from Europe, according to US government data.
Among the countries where the decline was most noticeable in March were Germany (down 28% compared to 2024), the United Kingdom (down 15% compared to 2024), and South Korea (another 15%). Furthermore, according to US government data cited in the WTTC report, other key markets that suffered declines of between 24% and 33% in March include Spain, Colombia, Ireland, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic.
Canadian boycott
However, the country where the drop in international visits to the United States has been most noticeable is Canada. Beyond cases of Canadians with legal visas being detained at the border, Trump's constant threats to turn the neighboring country into "the 51st state" have not been well received.Anti-American sentiment has gained strength in Canada, where campaigns of all kinds have been seen to show their rejection of the Republican, including a boycott of tourism. Major Canadian airlines have been forced to reduce flights to US destinations such as Las Vegas, New York, and Los Angeles due to the plummeting of bookings so far in 2025, while drive-by visits decreased by 32% in March.
Some of the country's major tourist attractions, such as the Statue of Liberty, are also feeling the effects of this. Ticket sales to visit the monument fell by 6% in April, according to the New York Post, while hotel bookings in New York for the end of this year are down 20% compared to last year.
The first cases of tourists being detained at the border began to appear in the press in March. Although the Turisme i Viatge website has not yet published provisional data for April, the figure is expected to be low given the news of these cases. "This is a wake-up call for the US government. The world's largest tourism economy is going in the wrong direction, not due to a lack of demand, but due to a lack of action. While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the US government is hanging out the 'closed' sign," warns Julia Simpson, president and board member.
Trump flees from study
US government projections for 2025 predicted a banner year for tourism. The National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) predicted that the United States would experience a 6.5% increase in the number of international visitors compared to 2024. In total, it estimated some 77.1 million arrivals during 2025, a figure that would be close to pre-pandemic levels, when 2019.
Despite the poor outlook, Trump downplayed the decline in tourism, just as he has done with the fall in markets following the tariff war.
In April, the president said the decline in visitors "is not a big problem," despite the threats to the economy. When reporters asked Trump if people were "afraid" to come to the United States, the president replied, "No. We treat our tourists very well. We're the tourism capital of the world. There's no other place like it."
