The United States is on pace to lose $12.5 billion in international travel spending this year, according to the latest Economic Impact Research published by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) on Tuesday.
The less than $169 billion in U.S. international travel spending marks a 22.5% decline from the peak of $217.4 billion in 2019.
WTTC President and CEO Julia Simpson said the downward projection for this year is driven by negative sentiment after months of Trump administration policies that have turned off foreigners from visiting because they either feel unwelcome or unsafe, The New York Times reported.
"The near neighbors, Canada and Mexico, are not traveling," Simpson said, referring to a decrease in travelers from those countries due to immigration crackdowns, tariffs, and politically charged statements from the Trump administration.
"There are also concerns over visas — whether they've got the right visa or might accidentally get arrested, which has made people quite fearful."
The United States is the only nation among the 184 economies analyzed by the WTTC and the global economic advisory firm Oxford Economics that is predicted to have a decline in international visitors this year. As the United States tightens immigration and scrutinizes visitors at its borders, other countries, such as China, are relaxing visa requirements, seeking to encourage international tourism.
Despite this, the United States still has the world's largest tourism and travel market, which contributed $2.36 trillion to the nation's economy last year. However, 90% of tourism spending in 2024 came from domestic tourists.
The WTTC says not encouraging international tourism to the United States is a missed opportunity, as foreign travelers spend an average of $4,000 per trip — which is eight times more than domestic ones, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
"Without urgent action to restore international traveler confidence, it could take several years for the U.S. just to return to prepandemic levels of international visitor spend," Simpson said.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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