International travelers are avoiding visiting the United States.
In 2025, the U.S. had roughly 4 million fewer international visitors than the year before, a 5.5 percent decline in overseas tourism. Foreign visitor spending also decreased by more than $8 billion.
After the dip in travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, last year’s figures represent the sharpest annual drop in international tourism in roughly 20 years.
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The number of visitors from across the world, including Germany, India, France, Australia, Chile, and China, has declined. The largest drop came from neighboring Canada as far fewer Canadians are traveling to the U.S.
According to CNN, which cited data from mobile tracking firm Cuebiq, Canadian travel to major U.S. cities may have fallen by as much as 42 percent over the past year. The figure suggests a far steeper drop than the official estimate of a 25 percent decline in border crossings.
Number of visitors from across the world, including Germany, India, France, Australia, Chile, and China, have decline -Credit:AP
The outlet reported that travelers say they are avoiding visiting the U.S. because of President Donald Trump’s rhetoric, hardline policies, and the political fallout surrounding the war in Iran.
The strain is particularly pronounced with Canada.
Once among America’s closest allies, the U.S.-Canada relationship has deteriorated sharply since Trump’s return to the White House. Trump has spoken about annexing Canada as the 51st state and imposing tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, and automobiles.
Canadian tourism to Las Vegas, where visitors from Canada have long formed one of the largest international travel segments, has dropped off significantly amid the ongoing trade dispute.
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Following Trump’s tariffs on Canada last year, visits from Canadians fell by 17 percent, contributing to a 7.5 percent overall decline in tourism, Politico reported.
Trump’s war on Iran has also driven up energy prices worldwide, including in Canada. Consequently, the majority of Canadians now view the U.S. as an unreliable partner and ally, according to a February Politico poll.
The same poll revealed Canadians are significantly more inclined than Europeans to rank the U.S. ahead of Russia as a threat to global peace.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has seen a notable drop in foreign visitors at a time when international travel is otherwise booming — the World Travel and Tourism Council reports that roughly 80 million more people traveled abroad in 2025 than the previous year, with much of that growth bypassing American destinations.
“We used to be a country that others wanted to emulate. That narrative no longer exists,” Juliette Kayyem, faculty chair of the Homeland Security Project at the Harvard Kennedy School, told CNN.
“The long-term harm is that the world will not know America… the narrative of the United States is now a country that is at best, not to be respected, and at worst, a democracy that is floundering.”
