Tourists afraid of the U.S. are going to this country instead

A report from Tourism Economics shows that travelers are choosing other places.

Apr 2, 2025 - 19:58

Tourists afraid of the U.S. are going to this country instead

With multiple countries now warning their citizens about border problems that can arise under the Trump administration, tourists from all over the world are reconsidering trips to the U.S.

The U.S. Travel Association estimated that the dropoff in Canadians visits to the U.S. that began after Trump's imposition of tariffs and repeated references to the country as the "51st state" could result in $2.1 billion in lost revenue to the industry.

Travel to the U.S. from all countries is now predicted to drop by 5.5% by the time 2025 is over, according to a new report from the research firm Tourism Economics,

Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter

Tourism to the U.S. to drop off dramatically, (here is where people will go instead)

As it had previously been predicted to rise by nearly 9%, this represents a total 15.2% in international inbound travel decline. In financial terms, this could result in $18 billion lost tourist dollars coming into the country.

"Historical data underscores that trade and geopolitical tensions influence travel demand," the report's authors write. "During the previous US-China trade dispute, the US share of China’s long-haul outbound travel market shrank considerably. Similarly, during past periods of strained US-Mexico relations, visitor numbers from Mexico declined by 3%."

Diarmaid O'Sullivan who heads marketing at the luxury Hamilton Princess Hotel & Beach Club in Bermuda said that they've already seen a 20% spike in visits from Canadians who might have otherwise gone to Florida or California.

Other reports show that many Canadians are opting for both Asian countries like Japan and European ones like Italy, Spain, and Greece for their summer holidays.

Numbers from the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office show a 14% decrease in travel from EU countries (visitors from Slovenia, in particular, saw the biggest visitor dropoff of 26%.

Montreal is the second-largest city in Canada and one that many European travelers are choosing this year.
Shutterstock

'Is something not correct?' Scary stories and advisories are increasingly putting off tourists

According to some reports, many EU travelers are redirecting their North American vacations to Canadian cities such as Montreal and Vancouver. Both the advisories put out by their governments and high-profile cases like the one in which one German national with a green card was held in detention for months after being stopped at Boston's Logan Airport have been scaring many off going to the U.S.

More on travel:

"Always make sure you have the proper entry documents," an updated Dutch advisory for the U.S. states. "[...] Is something not correct? That may be reason for the U.S. authorities to refuse you entry to the U.S."

The Tourism Economics report further predicts an overall slowdown in U.S. economic growth that will in turn curb travel both domestically and internationally. When those two groups are looked at together, the research firm predicts a 2025 travel number dropoff of 4.1%. This would also result in a $72 billion financial hit to the travel industry.

"In this scenario, the U.S. implements sweeping tariffs on key trading partners, including Canada, Mexico, and China, triggering retaliatory measures that disrupt economic conditions and travel flows," the study authors write. "Additional uncertainty stems from deteriorating travel sentiment in Europe due to tariff policies and ongoing geopolitical tensions."