In year one of President Trump’s second term, international tourists had second thoughts about coming to the U.S. In year two, I suspect, the reverse will become more apparent — U.S. citizens will increasingly avoid pleasure travel abroad.
The two trends will likely have a common denominator: fears of border hassles when entering or returning to the U.S., and negative sentiment from people who live outside of the 50 U.S. states and its territories.
In 2025, the slowing of inbound international tourism was broadly discussed and well documented (according to the National Travel and Tourism Office, down for the eighth straight month with December’s data release). Nearby Canada is a case in point.
The Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University published an infographic early in January that showed an overall 36% decrease in passenger vehicle traffic coming from British Columbia through Whatcom County land entry points last year. It totalled nearly a million fewer vehicles than in 2024. The negative percentages began, perhaps not surprisingly, in February, the month after Trump retook office. They never went positive again.
BPRI Director Laurie Trautman, in an interview with CTV News, cited the successive impact of “51st state” rhetoric, threatened tariffs and increased border hassles as among the factors that soured our neighbors to the north on heading south.
But as 2026 began, presidential rhetoric ramped up anew with a larger international target. It wasn’t just the dozens of countries that faced new visa restrictions and travel bans starting in January. It was also the long-time allies in Europe who were belittled and threatened with another round of punitive tariffs if the U.S. wouldn’t be allowed to somehow take over — by force, potentially — Greenland, itself part of NATO ally Denmark.
The target countries, this time, included popular U.S. vacation destinations such as France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Denmark and the U.K.
It was a tipping point for me and my wife, both seasoned independent travelers. Nearly a year ago, we had started planning to spend part of February 2026 in Germany and other parts of Europe. We had tickets, reservations and thoroughly explored copies of Rick Steves’ and Fodor’s guidebooks.
I also knew, after decades of international trips, that tourists have traditionally been able to stay under the radar when it comes to the political actions of their governments. Locals tend to understand that leader policies and individual beliefs are separate. And for the most part, in my long experience traversing borders, that’s held true.
But this felt different. The protests in Denmark (where I had spent time as a child) were a clue, as was the decision by my relatives in Germany to cancel plans to visit the U.S. for a relative’s significant 2026 birthday because of border unpredictability. It seemed more … personal.
So we did something I had never before done: canceled all of our plans for an international vacation, even taking a financial hit for small portions that were nonrefundable.
I couldn’t imagine — across language barriers — trying to explain the nuance that not all U.S. citizens agree with their government’s actions. Nor with having to endure the side-eye Americans will now inevitably get from a lot of Europeans. It’s hard to expect a courteous reception when the U.S. leader is not only criticizing, but threatening the very countries you’re visiting.
Others may have more tolerance for this. Or even relish the notoriety.
That’s not my idea of a relaxing trip. I have tried not to be, when I travel internationally, the stereotypical Ugly American. But there seems no escape from what many Europeans might today call the Ugliest American.
I still have hopes that eventually, we’ll be able to take pleasure in vacationing overseas again when being a traveler from the U.S. doesn’t risk as much potential negative sentiment.
Or we might instead try what a Bellingham neighbor told me she does when traveling globally during times of border tensions, if asked where she’s from.
“We live just south,” she’d say, “of Vancouver, B.C.”
Frank Catalano is a Bellingham-based author and former technology industry consultant and executive. Frank was CDN’s regular business contributor from 2022 to 2025, and has been a columnist for GeekWire, Puget Sound Business Journal and several other publications.
