U.S. To Lose Millions of Visitors This Year, Travel Groups Warn

Anger over the Trump administration’s tariffs and rhetoric will likely cause international travel to the United States to decline even more than previously expected this year, an influential travel forecasting company said, Dee-Ann Durbin reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The projected decline will affect airlines, hotels, national parks, and other popular tourist sites.

Tourism Economics now projects a 9.4% drop in international arrivals to the U.S. this year—nearly double the 5% decline it had forecast at the end of February.

Initially, the firm had predicted a strong year for international travel, with visits expected to increase 9% from 2024. But company president Adam Sacks said high-profile incidents involving European tourists detained at U.S. borders have had a chilling effect.

Travelers have also been angered by tariffs, Trump’s aggressive stance toward Canada and Greenland, and his fiery White House exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“With each policy development, each rhetorical missive, we’re just seeing unforced error after unforced error from the administration,” Sacks said. “It has a direct impact on international travel to the U.S.”

The projected decline will affect airlines, hotels, national parks, and other popular tourist sites.

Tourism Economics expects travel from Canada to plunge 20% this year—a blow to border states like New York and Michigan, as well as destinations like California, Nevada, and Florida.

The U.S. Travel Association has also raised concerns about a sharp decline in Canadian visitors.

Even a 10% drop, the group warned in February, could result in two million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending, and 14,000 job losses. Air Canada recently said bookings to the U.S. for the April–September period were down 10% compared to the same time last year.