Trump's policies will cost the United States upwards of $29 billion in lost tourism revenue, according to a new study. Great job, voters.
Source: Forbes
While tourism is booming across the rest of the world, the U.S. is a notable loser this year as tens of millions of international visitors are choosing to travel elsewhere—costing the economy up to $29 billion—and risking millions of jobs.
“While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the ‘closed’ sign,” Julia Simpson, president and CEO of WTTC, said in a statement. In its latest client note, Tourism Economics blamed “sentiment headwinds” for its projections of significant declines in visitation from Canada (-20.2%) and Western Europe (-4.9%) in 2025. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, travel bans, inflammatory rhetoric and harsh immigration policies have combined for a chilling effect on visitors—and there’s little indication of a reversal anytime soon. “Given we’re halfway through the year and we’ve seen these impacts, we don't know when the stiffest headwind is, but I think it does stay sustained,” Aran Ryan, director of industry studies at Tourism Economics, told Forbes. “We’re generally assuming that this persists for a while and that some of it is going to persist throughout the end of the administration.”
The significant decline in visitors from Canada is particularly costly, as Canadian tourists made up roughly one-quarter of all foreign travelers who came to the United States in 2024, according to the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO). Last year, Canadians spent $20.5 billion—nearly twice what Americans spent at McDonald’s restaurants in all of last year. And the Canadians show no signs of relenting. In May, Canadian visitation dropped 38% by car and 24% by air compared to the same month in 2024. It was the fifth consecutive month of steepening year-over-year declines, following double-digit drops in April and March. On first-quarter earnings calls in early May, executives from major hotel and travel companies noted that Canadians were still traveling as much as ever—just not to the United States. Hyatt chief executive officer Mark Hoplamazian called the phenomenon “a flyover.”
🚨 BREAKING NEWS: Trump’s Economic Wrecking Ball Just Claimed Another Victim — U.S. Tourism
The United States is now the only damn country out of 184 global economies seeing a drop in international tourism spending in 2025. Let that sink in. While every other nation on Earth is… pic.twitter.com/98AQ8bdvP8— P a u l ◉ (@SkylineReport) July 6, 2025
