Tourists shun US amid tensions and tariffs
Fewer international tourists are visiting the USA following ongoing geopolitical issues, experts warn. The trend is expected to remain for the foreseeable future.
By the end of July 2025, the amount of overseas visitors, excluding Mexican and Canadian tourists, fell by over 3 million or 1.6% compared with the same period in 2024, the National Travel and Tourism Office revealed.
Data from Canada also revealed a fall in travellers. Far more Americans drove over the border into Canada than Canadians driving to the US. That is the first time in nearly two decades with the exception of two months during the pandemic that this has been the case.
Experts and local officials blame this on Trump’s return to office. They highlight his global tariffs, crackdowns on immigration, and continued threats to acquire both Canada and Greenland, saying that these are all pushing tourists away from the US.
“To see the traffic drop off so significantly, especially because of rhetoric that can be changed, is so disheartening,” Patrick Kaler, CEO of the tourism organisation Visit Buffalo Niagara said .
The World Travel & Tourism Council predicted ahead of America’s Memorial Day that the country would be the only one among the 184 it studies that would see a fall in foreign visitor spending in 2025.
“The world’s biggest travel and tourism economy is heading in the wrong direction,” said Julia Simpson, the council’s president and CEO. “While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the ‘closed’ sign.”
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