Apr 19, 2025 09:36 PM IST
International visits to the United States has taken a significant dive over the past few months, ever since US President Donald Trump came to power. But why?
Travel to the US from other countries has taken a nosedive since Donald Trump became president again, and it’s not hard to see why. Reports about tourists getting detained for weeks at the border, sudden tariffs causing trade drama, and warnings from other countries about “think twice before visiting” have spooked a lot of people.
Charts show sharp dive in international visits
According to travel charts by the US Government, last month alone, international visits dropped nearly 12% compared to 2023, That’s the steepest fall since the pandemic froze travel in 2020. If this keeps up, experts warn it could cost the US billions in lost tourism money, as per Washington Post report.
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Take Europe, for example. Many travelers there are skipping the US entirely and vacationing closer to home these days. Data shows visits from Western Europe fell 17% in March, while numbers from Germany and Spain cratered by 28% and 25%, respectively. Same story with Central America and the Caribbean—visits from those regions dropped around 24-26%.
Canada sees shift in tourist travel to United States
Canada usually sends millions of tourists south every year (especially to sunny spots like Florida), but is now seeing a major shift. After Trump slapped new tariffs on Canadian goods, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau practically urged citizens to vacation locally and also buy domestic products. As a result, road trips from Canada to the US are down by 32%, while air travel has dipped 13.5%, according to data from the Canadian government.
Some travelers worry about getting hassled at border control, while others are turned off by Trump’s policies or inflammatory comments. The European Union isn’t taking chances—they’ve started issuing officials disposable “burner phones” when traveling to the U.S. to avoid potential surveillance, according to reports.
“This drop was totally predictable,” said tourism analyst Adam Sacks, as reported by The Washington Post. “When people feel unwelcome or unsafe, they go elsewhere,” Sacks continued.
