Recent drop in visitors is larger than that recorded in the global recession of 2008. So, why are millions of tourists shunning the US’s borders?
By
Four million fewer foreign visitors came to the US in 2025 compared to 2024 – representing a 5.5 per cent drop – with total spending decreasing by more than $8billion, according to the latest research from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
Such a decline marks the first real year-over-year decline since the COVID-19 pandemic, with the drop in visitors larger than during the recession of 2008. Now, Americans spend more money travelling abroad than foreign visitors spend visiting the US.
‘The US is the only major destination in the world that is tracking a decline in international visitor spending,’ said senior vice-president at the US Travel Association Erik Hansen.
Enjoying this article? Check out our related reads…
In 2025, North America was the slowest-growing market globally, WTTC’s research found. Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific region increased by 8.2 per cent in 2025.
‘The U.S. is losing market share, and China could replace it as the world’s largest tourism market within four years if it continues its own rapid growth,’ said President and CEO of WTTC Gloria Guevara. ‘The US. can maintain its leading position if it increases investment and overseas promotion, rebuilds international demand and changes perceptions with a warmer welcome at border entry points.’
There are multiple reasons for the decline in the US’s tourism; firstly, practical barriers: a proposed $250 visa integrity fee for incoming visitors, spikes in jet fuel prices due to wars, and the defunding of Brand USA – the only American organisation that markets US tourism to international audiences. In addition, a Trump administration proposal last year would require visitors from 42 visa-free countries (including the UK and most of Europe) to provide five years’ worth of social media history in order to enter the country. The proposal has not yet been initiated, but some believe it already has.
Secondly, a vast swathe of rhetoric and measures has confused some travellers. The deployment of ICE agents – who aren’t trained in airport security – at airports, along with some of Trump’s policies, has made many reconsider whether to visit the US or not. As well as this, fears over detainment at the border and gun violence remain real concerns for potential travellers.
The US is ‘losing market share as links between travel and trade weaken and perceptions of reduced openness deter visitors,’ said the president of tourism economics, Adam Sacks. ‘[It’s] a pattern reminiscent of the UK’s experience following the Brexit vote,’ he continued.
The US’s downturn in tourism is not a trend seen globally: in fact, it comes as eighty million more people travelled internationally in 2025 compared with the year before.
The vast majority of the decrease in US tourism was from Canadians not crossing the border. In 2024, 20.2 million Canadians visited the US; in 2025, that figure dropped to 16 million. Visitors from Germany dropped from two million to 1.8 million, India 2.2 million to 2.1 million)and France 1.7 million to 1.6 million.
Places hardest hit in the US include Florida, which experienced the ‘brunt of overall loss in international tourists’ according to Sacks. In particular, Walt Disney World in central Florida – which sees large numbers of international guests each year – faced a one per cent drop in attendance compared to the same quarter last year, ‘reflecting, in part, continued softness in international visitation’.
