'Antipathy' to US: Tourists turning away from Trump's America

NEW YORK

In just a few weeks, the U.S. tourism outlook has clouded as a result of some of President Donald Trump's policy decisions, which have angered some foreign visitors and prompted fear of a surge in prices and a stronger dollar.

Foreign traveler arrivals in the United States are expected to decline by 5.1 percent in 2025 compared to last year, against a previously projected increase of 8.8 percent, Tourism Economics said in a report published late last month.

Their spending is expected to slide 10.9 percent.

Since the report's publication, "the situation has deteriorated further," and the outcome will likely be even worse, Tourism Economics president Adam Sacks said, citing "the effects of antipathy towards the U.S.."

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has slapped tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China and threatened to impose them on the European Union.

A sweeping plan to curb immigration has intensified.

Government bodies like the U.S. 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 Gaza.

"A situation with polarizing Trump Administration policies and rhetoric... will discourage travel to the U.S.," said Tourism Economics, a subsidiary of Oxford Economics.

"Some organizations will feel pressure to avoid hosting events in the U.S., or sending employees to the U.S., cutting into business travel," it added.

The World Tourism Forum Institute said a mix of stringent immigration policies, a strong dollar and global political tensions "could significantly affect" international arrivals, "potentially reshaping the nation's tourism sector for years to come."

Among residents of 16 European and Asian countries surveyed by YouGov in December, 35 percent of respondents said they were less likely to come to the United States under Trump, while 22 percent were more likely.

Some 77.7 million foreign tourists were expected in 2024, up 17 percent year-on-year, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office, which does not yet have final figures for last year.

Tourists from Western Europe, who made up 37 percent of visitors in 2024, are the most likely to choose other destinations, along with Canadians and Mexicans.

The U.S. 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.

According to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadians returning from the United States fell 23 percent in February year-on-year, the second consecutive monthly decline.

In New York, which welcomed 12.9 million foreign travelers in 2024, the effect is already noticeable, with Canadians canceling tour bookings and a drop in online searches for hotels or Broadway shows, NYC Tourism president Julie Coker told AFP.

She lowered her forecast for the year in February but said that so far, only Canadians are saying no to Trump's America.

"We're not currently seeing anything from the U.K. or Europe," because it's too early, she said. "We are definitely watching that very closely."

But British and German authorities have just warned their nationals to be extra vigilant with their travel documents, citing the risk of arrest.