Foreign traveller arrivals in United States are expected to decline by 5.1% in 2025 compared to last year
\n NEW YORK
\nIn just a few weeks, the US tourism outlook has clouded as a result of some of President Donald Trump\u2019s policy decisions, which have angered some foreign visitors and prompted fear of a surge in prices and a stronger dollar.
\nForeign traveller arrivals in the United States are expected to decline by 5.1% in 2025 compared to last year, against a previously projected increase of 8.8%, Tourism Economics said in a report published late last month.
\nTheir spending is expected to slide 10.9%.
\nSince the report\u2019s publication, \u201cthe situation has deteriorated further,\u201d and the outcome will likely be even worse, Tourism Economics president Adam Sacks said, citing \u201cthe effects of antipathy towards the US.\u201d
\nIn recent weeks, the Trump administration has slapped tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China \u2014 and threatened to impose them on the European Union. A sweeping plan to curb immigration has intensified.
\nGovernment bodies like the US Agency for International Development have been decimated, thousands of civil servants from lawyers to park rangers have been laid off, and Trump has drawn up controversial plans for the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
\n\u201cA situation with polarising Trump Administration policies and rhetoric… will discourage travel to the US,\u201d said Tourism Economics, a subsidiary of Oxford Economics.
\n\u201cSome organisations will feel pressure to avoid hosting events in the US, or sending employees to the US, cutting into business travel,\u201d it added.
\nThe World Tourism Forum Institute said a mix of stringent immigration policies, a strong dollar and global political tensions \u201ccould significantly affect\u201d international arrivals, \u201cpotentially reshaping the nation\u2019s tourism sector for years to come\u201d.
\nAmong residents of 16 European and Asian countries surveyed by YouGov in December, 35% of respondents said they were less likely to come to the United States under Trump, while 22% were more likely.
\n\u2018A bit scared\u2019
\nFor tourists from France, Uzbekistan, and Argentina interviewed by AFP in New York\u2019s Times Square, Trump\u2019s stance has not upended their plans.
\nMarianela Lopez and Ailen Hadjikovakis, both 33, nevertheless used their European passports rather than their Argentine ones to avoid any problems at the border.
\n\u201cWe were a bit scared about the situation, but we didn\u2019t change our plans,\u201d said Lopez.
\nThe Lagardere family, who came from France, said it hadn\u2019t impacted their plans either.
\nThe Americans \u201celected this president. It\u2019s democracy. If they\u2019re not happy, they\u2019ll change it in four years,\u201d said Laurent Lagardere, 54.
\n\u201cHe is who he is\u201d and avoiding the United States \u201cwon\u2019t change anything,\u201d Lagardere added.
\nSome 77.7 million foreign tourists were expected in 2024, up 17% year-on-year, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office, which does not yet have final figures for last year.
\nCanadians saying no to New York
\nTourists from Western Europe \u2014 who made up 37% of visitors in 2024 \u2014 are the most likely to choose other destinations, along with Canadians and Mexicans.
\nThe US Travel Association warned in early February that customs tariffs would deter Canadians, the largest contingent of foreign tourists in the United States with 20.4 million in 2024.
\nAccording to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadians returning from the United States fell 23% in February year-on-year, the second consecutive monthly decline.
\nIn New York, which welcomed 12.9 million foreign travellers in 2024, the effect is already noticeable, with Canadians cancelling tour bookings and a drop in online searches for hotels or Broadway shows, NYC Tourism president Julie Coker told AFP.
\nShe lowered her forecast for the year in February but said that so far, only Canadians are saying no to Trump\u2019s America.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re not currently seeing anything from the UK or Europe,\u201d because it\u2019s too early, she said. \u201cWe are definitely watching that very closely.\u201d
\nBut British and German authorities have just warned their nationals to be extra vigilant with their travel documents, citing the risk of arrest.
\nUnited Airlines has noted a \u201cbig drop\u201d in travel from Canada to the United States as well as a decline in demand for domestic travel, as have several competitors.
\nAccording to Tourism Economics, the tourism sector could lose about $64 billion in revenue in 2025 due to the decline in international and domestic travel.
\nAmericans now appear frozen by the economic outlook, and terms like recession and inflation also scare tourists, along with the risk of a stronger greenback, experts point out.
\n\u201cThis will make the US more expensive for inbound travellers, dampening both visitor volume and average length of stay,\u201d noted Tourism Economics.
\nProfessionals also fear the effects of tightening immigration policy on major sports events hosted by the United States, such as the Ryder Cup (2025), the FIFA World Cup (2026), and the 2026 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Foreign traveller arrivals in United States are expected to decline by 5.1% in 2025 compared to last year NEW YORK In just a few weeks, the US tourism outlook has clouded as a result of some of President Donald Trump\u2019s policy decisions, which have angered some foreign visitors and prompted fear of a surge in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":468794,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-468803","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n