America is losing around $3 billion per month in tourism revenue, due to a backlash over its policies toward foreign countries. America’s tariffs and treatment of foreign visitors angered people in Europe, Canada, and Latin America. Canadians are also angry about Trump’s talk of Canada becoming the 51st state.
Reason Magazine reports:
As the Trump administration began snatching college students, detaining legal European tourists…insulting the sovereignty of Canadians, and floating plans to ban visitors from 43 countries, the domestic travel and tourism industry braced itself for bad news.
“Historical data underscores that trade and geopolitical tensions influence travel demand,” warned the research firm Tourism Economics in late February. The group had previously estimated that inbound visits to the U.S. in 2025 would rise 8.8 percent over last year; now it was forecasting a 5.1 percent drop. What’s more, inbound travel spending this year “could fall by 12.3 [percent], amounting to a $22 billion annual loss.”
Sure enough, the year-over-year foreign visitor numbers in March were brutal. Down a jaw-dropping 18.4 percent, they were led by a sharp drop-off from America’s No. 1 supplier: Canada.
Then came President Donald Trump’s 11th week in office. On April 2, the populist president capped a lifelong enthusiasm for tariffs…by announcing import taxes that averaged 22 percent, the largest ratchet in U.S. history.
Then tourism plunged even further compared to last year. The tourism revenue lost due to the backlash will likely be around $30 billion in 2025 alone.
Tourism from overseas had been expected to increase due to a weaker dollar and economic growth in Asia, eastern Europe, and places like Brazil. But it is down instead.
