WASHINGTON: At the US hotels that Meade Atkeson manages, a drop in tourism weighs heavily on business \u2014 but hoteliers like him hope that World Cup enthusiasm will soon eclipse wariness over President Donald Trump\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n
The US hospitality sector has been reeling from a tourism slump in the world\u2019s biggest economy, which became the only major destination to see a drop in foreign visitors last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust financially, it\u2019s difficult when international travel is down,\u201d Atkeson told AFP, noting that such visitors tend to stay longer and spend more.<\/p>\n
Foreign travelers account for nearly a quarter of business at the three hotels under Sonesta group that he manages \u2014 two in Washington and a third in Miami Beach.<\/p>\n
Yet, in the first eleven months of 2025, US official data showed that inbound travel dropped by 5.4 percent.<\/p>\n
Canadians were noticeably absent, with travel plunging by 21.7 percent from 2024, translating to about four million fewer people. The decline was nearly seven percent for French visitors.<\/p>\n
Industry professionals see this as a consequence of Trump\u2019s policies, even if they may not openly say so.<\/p>\n
Visitors have chafed at the Republican president\u2019s sweeping tariffs on foreign goods, broadsides against other countries, tightening immigration rules and portrayal of certain Democrat-led cities as ridden with crime.<\/p>\n
Canadians \u201cwere asked to be the 51st state, right?\u201d Atkeson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you talk to Canadians, many of them have chosen not to travel out of conscience\u201d or on principle, he added.<\/p>\n
Brazilian tourists meanwhile \u201ccan go anywhere they want,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so they may have gone to Europe, they may have gone to the islands.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Fear\u2019<\/p>\n
Thousands of kilometers away, the major resort city of Las Vegas in Nevada \u2014 boasting 150,000 hotel rooms \u2014 has also had a bad year.<\/p>\n
Elsa Rodan, a chambermaid at the Bellagio resort and casino, says her establishment is \u201cblessed\u201d compared with others.<\/p>\n
But even so, it has had to lower prices to attract guests, added Rodan, a representative of the Unite Here union who spoke at a Washington press conference.<\/p>\n
Unite Here President Gwen Mills urges for a renewed effort to lobby the Trump administration over policies and rhetoric that she believes are jeopardizing the sector employing more than two million people.<\/p>\n
According to her, hoteliers are not pushing the government enough.<\/p>\n
Employers express \u201cfear, the fear of picking your head up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Hopefully \u2018better\u2019<\/p>\n
Fewer visitors and overnight stays, alongside a drop in revenue, have triggered a $6.7 billion shortfall for Nevada hotels in 2025, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA).<\/p>\n
But the organization hopes that 2026 will be a turning point \u2014 it is counting on the World Cup, from June 11 to July 19, to attract visitors.<\/p>\n
Eleven US cities will be hosting matches.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s being equated to having nearly 80 Super Bowls in just over a month,\u201d AHLA spokesman Ralph Posner told AFP.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe economic lift won\u2019t be limited to host cities,\u201d he added. \u201cDestinations across the country are hoping to benefit as international visitors extend their trips and travel between markets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Las Vegas, for example, hopes to draw fans who might stop there before or after a game in Los Angeles or Kansas City.<\/p>\n
Organizers say that besides the seven million spectators in stadiums, the World Cup is set to attract 20-30 million tourists.<\/p>\n
The whole event, they believe, can generate $30 billion for the US economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that things will look better,\u201d Atkeson said.<\/p>\n
His Miami hotel is under renovations and cannot host much World Cup-related activity.<\/p>\n
But his Washington establishments are highlighting their proximity to Philadelphia, where several matches will be held.<\/p>\n
Another complication is war in the Middle East following US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which could snarl travel.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a little too soon to tell how we\u2019re going to do with that, but we\u2019ll see,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON: At the US hotels that Meade Atkeson manages, a drop in tourism weighs heavily on business \u2014 but hoteliers like him hope that World Cup enthusiasm will soon eclipse wariness over President Donald Trump\u2019s policies. The US hospitality sector has been reeling from a tourism slump in the world\u2019s biggest economy, which became the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-535317","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n