Latest news with #TourismEconomics
See - Sada Elbalad
4 days ago
- Business
- See - Sada Elbalad
US Economy Loses $12.5 Billion due to Decline in Tourism
Taarek Refaat Foreign tourist spending in the United States has declined significantly this year, amid rising negative perceptions related to trade and immigration policies, which have led to a loss of more than $12 billion this year, according to a report by Oxford Economics. The report indicated that losses could reach $8.5 billion in 2025, a decrease of an estimated 5% compared to last year. This decline is attributed to the decline in tourist traffic, with the number of international visitors expected to fall by 9%, according to Arne Ryan, director of industry studies at Tourism Economics. Regions and businesses that rely on foreign tourists face significant economic risk as a result of this decline. While some estimates suggest losses of $8.5 billion, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) predicts losses of up to $12.5 billion by 2025, describing it as a "direct blow to the U.S. economy," impacting communities, jobs, and businesses across the country. Ryan explained that "people's perceptions of the United States are important in travel decisions," adding that the Trump administration's policies, particularly those related to border security and tariffs, have created a negative climate for potential travelers. According to the data, flight bookings to the United States between May and July fell 11% compared to the same period last year, while Europe and Canada recorded declines of 10% and 33%, respectively. The U.S. Travel Association predicts that if this trend continues, it will result in losses of $21 billion in tourism revenue by 2025, confirming that every 1% decline in tourism spending costs the U.S. economy $1.8 billion annually. Experts believe the strength of the US dollar is a contributing factor, along with fears of slowing global growth and escalating trade tensions. By 2025, Oxford Economics expects international arrivals to grow by around 9% and their spending to increase by 16%. read more CBE: Deposits in Local Currency Hit EGP 5.25 Trillion Morocco Plans to Spend $1 Billion to Mitigate Drought Effect Gov't Approves Final Version of State Ownership Policy Document Egypt's Economy Expected to Grow 5% by the end of 2022/23- Minister Qatar Agrees to Supply Germany with LNG for 15 Years Business Oil Prices Descend amid Anticipation of Additional US Strategic Petroleum Reserves Business Suez Canal Records $704 Million, Historically Highest Monthly Revenue Business Egypt's Stock Exchange Earns EGP 4.9 Billion on Tuesday Business Wheat delivery season commences on April 15 News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies
Fast Company
4 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Who wants to come to America? More tourists are staying away, spending their money elsewhere in 2025
Between reports of travelers being arrested or hassled at border crossings and boycotts due to President Trump's divisive rhetoric, it's no surprise that the number of international visitors to the United States has taken a sharp downturn. Now new research from Tourism Economics predicts an 8.5% decline in international tourism to the United States this year. As a result, the country could see an $8.5 billion downtick in international visitor spending, according to Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company. Meanwhile, the World Travel & Tourism Council has an even bleaker prediction, estimating a loss of $12.5 billion for 2025. The former's predictions are an improvement from a report two months ago, which put the decrease in arrivals at 9.4% and spending down to 5%, compared to 4.7%. However, they're shocking when you consider that the researchers had initially predicted a 9% increase in international travelers and a 16% boost in their spending for 2025. 'Negative sentiment effects' The largest decline for a single country is predicted to reach 20.2% from Canada—the independent nation that President Trump has posited should go from neighbor to 51st state. Western Europe follows at an expected 5.8% decrease in visitors to the U.S. Canada and Europe already have a significant drop in flights booked for May to July, down 33% and 10.4%, respectively. 'Overall, the strained relationship between the US and its key trading allies and tourism source markets will continue to weigh heavily on travel demand,' stated Aran Ryan, the report's author and the director of industry studies. 'These negative sentiment effects referenced in our prior research, explain our view that Trump administration rhetoric and policies have contributed to a mix of traveler backlash and concerns about traveling to the US.'
CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Fewer international tourists are visiting the U.S. — economic losses could be 'staggering,' researchers estimate
Spending from foreign visitors to the U.S. is poised to fall by $8.5 billion this year as negative perceptions tied to trade and immigration policy lead overseas tourists to look elsewhere, according to a research note published by Oxford Economics. The spending decline, which works out to a drop of about 5% relative to last year, is a result of less foot traffic. International arrivals to the U.S. are expected to fall about 9% this year, Aran Ryan, director of industry studies at Tourism Economics, part of Oxford Economics, wrote in a research note last week. Businesses and geographies that rely on foreign tourists for commerce could be especially hard-hit. Other estimates suggest the potential economic loss may be even larger. The World Travel & Tourism Council said this month it expects the U.S. economy to lose a "staggering" $12.5 billion in spending from international visitors in 2025, a "direct blow to the U.S. economy overall, impacting communities, jobs, and businesses from coast to coast." Trump administration "posturing and policy" tied to issues like border security and tariffs on long-standing trade partners have created "sentiment-headwinds" among would-be travelers, Ryan wrote. Flight bookings to the U.S. between May to July were down 11% year-over-year as of April, signaling a "weak" outlook that's likely attributable to travelers looking elsewhere, Ryan wrote. Europe and Canada are notable laggards: Air bookings are pacing more than 10% and 33% behind, respectively. "Travelers make choices: where and when to travel, when to book, and how long to stay and importantly, perceptions of the US matter," Ryan added. The U.S. Travel Association projects the U.S. will lose $21 billion in travel-related revenue in 2025 if current trends continue. Each 1% drop in spending from international visitors translates to $1.8 billion in lost revenue per year for the U.S. economy, according to the trade group. A strong U.S. dollar may also be deterring international visitors, experts said. While the dollar has weakened in recent weeks relative to other major currencies, it remains relatively strong, they said. That makes it more expensive for many foreign travelers, since it takes more of their money to buy U.S. goods and services. More from Personal Finance:Harvard students 'frantic' after Trump blocks international enrollmentWhat the House Republican budget bill means for your moneyTrump tariffs create the 'perfect storm' for scams Experts have also pointed to potential fears tied to weaker growth prospects for the global economy. Some of those worries are tied to trade barriers and uncertainty around trade policy. President Trump has imposed or announced tariffs on several countries and products since his inauguration. Most recently, he announced a 50% tariff on the European Union on Friday, only to delay them two days later, to July 9. Travel expert points to growing concern tied to U.S. immigration policy as perhaps the most consequential development in recent months. "Whether fair or not, a perception is taking hold that more people are being detained, more devices [are] being searched and legal travelers [are] being deported back to their origin country," Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, told CNBC earlier this month. "That creates a great deal of fear." Heading into 2025, Oxford Economics had expected roughly 9% growth in international arrivals and a 16% boost to their spending.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What a slowdown in travel to U.S. could mean for America's tourist hubs
Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan is a small city with a thriving economy. That's because visitors from its larger northern sister city in Ontario, Canada, keep the border town's economy humming. Situated on opposite sides of the St. Marys River, the U.S. and Canadian counterparts are connected by the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, over which thousands of vehicles pass each month. "It's so intertwined," said Linda Hoath, executive director of the Sault Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, who noted that many people have family members on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border. "There's no separation between the two communities," she said. But with the U.S. trade war unleashed against Canada in recent months — along with reports of detentions of travelers at the Canadian border by U.S. immigration authorities and threats of annexation by President Trump, the chasm between the two neighbors has grown, as fewer Canadians make the trip south to the United States. According to Sault Ste. Marie's International Bridge Administration, the passenger car traffic in April was down 44% compared with last year. And while the waning bridge traffic may not mean much from the view of Canada's second-largest province and most popular destination, to the historic Michigan town it certainly does. "They have 70,000 people," Hoath said. "And if they're not coming over and buying in our stores, then it affects us much more." Slowdown in travel to the U.S. Sault Ste. Marie is not alone in its tourism concerns. Though travel this Memorial Day weekend is expected to be the highest on record, one group has been noticeably absent at U.S. travel checkpoints in recent months: international travelers. International travel to the U.S. fell 14% in March compared with the same period last year, according to the the U.S. Travel Association. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest dip in travel, 20.2%, was from Canada, according to research from Tourism Economics, a unit of investment advisory firm Oxford Economics. Earlier this year, former Prime Minister Trudeau urged Canadians to refrain from vacationing in the U.S., after President Trump slapped a 25% tariff on Canadian goods. The drop-off in Canadian travel is a notable shift, given that Canada was the biggest source of inbound travel to the U.S. last year, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. As to what's behind the overall slowdown in international travel to the U.S., experts point to the Trump administration's stricter immigration policies, the strength of the U.S. dollar and long visa wait times. Aggressive tariff policies have also left a bad taste in many travelers' mouths. "Shifting sentiment and perceptions of the U.S. are expected to continue to weigh heavily on travel demand," said Aran Ryan, director of industry studies at Tourism Economics. As of April, flight bookings to the U.S. for the May–July travel window are 10.8% lower than they were the same period last year, according to the research firm. It projects an 8.7% decline in international arrivals in 2025. Economic Impact The slowdown in international travel threatens to destabilize America's tourism industry which plays a vital role in supporting the nation's economy. "International inbound travel is hugely important from an economic standpoint — people that come to the U.S. and visit spend on average $4,000 per visit," a spokesperson from the U.S. Travel Association, told CBS MoneyWatch. Those dollars may already be slipping away: The World Travel & Tourism Council projects that spending by international visitors to the U.S. will drop to $169 billion, or 7%, this year, from $181 billion in 2024. That's a 22.5% decrease from peak tourist spending of $217 billion in 2019, before the pandemic. Fewer international travelers could also take a toll on the workforce that props up America's tourism industry: Nearly 10% of American jobs are tied to the travel industry, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. An ongoing decline in international travel to the U.S. could result in a loss of over 230,000 jobs — with the dining and lodging industries expected to be the most hard hit, according to a recent analysis from the economic research firm IMPLAN. "It's not going to devastate the U.S. economy in terms of GDP, but it is very significant in terms of employment," Jenny Thorvaldson, IMPLAN's chief economist and data officer, told CBS MoneyWatch. Hoath, who runs the visitor center in Sault Ste. Marie, said she is already worried about what those losses could mean for her community. "When we're looking at the bridge and it's packed, people have to get their employees together," she said. "But if it's not so busy, what happens to your employees? They're not making the money. Some people will be laid off." Hotel bookings in the city of 14,000 are already down 77% year to date, according to the Sault Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. Shifting focus to domestic travelers As international tourism dampens, local communities like Flagstaff, Arizona, are rerouting their attention to domestic travelers. Despite the city's wide international appeal, the travel season has gotten off to a slow start. Flagstaff has seen a 15% to 20% drop in international tourists year over year, according to Trace Ward, director of Flagstaff's Convention and Visitors Bureau. While he hopes that decline will only be temporary, Ward is looking for ways to bring in more American tourists. One strategy he has in mind is adding more direct flights to the area and possibly attracting a new airline. The city is also promoting its Lowell Observatory's new Astronomy Discovery Center, which offers visitors a glimpse of the cosmos. "I look forward to the excitement of the international traveler coming back full steam, but until then, we're gonna sell to whoever is interested in coming here," Ward said. Hoath, likewise, has shifted her focus toward attracting visitors from within the States, and has decided to halt spending on any advertising in Canada. "When you don't have a ton of funds, you've got to put them where you know they have a better possibility of working," she said. Delta Air Lines' 100th year takes flight 9 young siblings killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza Fogo Island: A far away comeback story | 60 Minutes
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Boston tourism projected to see 10% drop in international visitors in 2025
Boston had hoped this year would bring a boost in international tourism, including visits from more than 800,000 Canadians. But revised projections paint a bleaker picture. Despite initial forecasts for a 9% increase in foreign visitors, Boston is now expected to see international tourism drop 10% compared to last year, according to Meet Boston, the city's privately run tourism organization. The decline is driven primarily by an expected 20% to 25% dip in Canadian visitors, Boston's greatest source of international travelers. But it is also made worse by lower-than-forecast tourism from other nations, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany. The prevailing sentiment in Boston's tourism industry is, 'We'll see,' said Dave O'Donnell, vice president of strategic communications for Meet Boston. International travel to Boston has not taken a significant hit so far this year, a cause for 'cautious optimism,' he said. But nationwide, the tourism industry is looking ahead with trepidation to the busy summer travel season. Meet Boston expects the city to welcome 657,000 Canadian visitors this year, 21% lower than the 833,000 in 2024. British tourists are forecast to decline from 185,000 last year to 171,000 this year, while Chinese visitors could drop from 135,000 to 124,000. If the current projections hold, and international tourism falls 10%, Boston's revenue from foreign visitors could fall from $2.7 billion in 2024 to $2.5 billion in 2025, according to data provided to Meet Boston from Tourism Economics, a leading global tourism advisory company. International travelers have historically made up 10% of Boston tourist volume. Yet they account for about 15% of visitor spending annually, according to Meet Boston. Thousands of people in Greater Boston are employed in industries that rely on tourist dollars. As of March, more than 253,000 people in the vast Boston metro area were employed in the hospitality and leisure industries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. More than 56,000 Bostonians worked in 'accommodations and food services,' according to a city report from last year. Yet not everyone is looking at the summer with foreboding. Group reservations are up this year at Boston Duck Tours. Since opening for the season at the end of March, international visitors have increased from the same period last year. 'We're not talking hundreds of thousands of tickets this early on, but if we're looking at signs of things pointing in the right direction, it's encouraging,' Tom Vigna, the Duck Boats' director of marketing and sales, said. 'Right now, the rain is having a little more of an impact than anything else going on in the world,' he added. Most analysts project international tourism to drop off across the country this year, a combination of economic factors and growing disdain for the U.S. abroad, according to the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. Statewide, the office expects 4.4% fewer overseas visitors this year compared to last year, based on data from Tourism Economics. A 'steep decline' in tourism to the U.S. is in motion, the organization warned last month. 'Policies and pronouncements from the Trump administration have contributed to a growing wave of negative sentiment toward the U.S. among potential international travelers,' it said. 'Heightened border security measures and visible immigration enforcement actions are amplifying concerns. These factors, combined with a strong U.S. dollar, are creating additional barriers for those considering travel to the U.S.' Some foreign tourists may be spooked by the strict enforcement of immigration laws and look to recent incidents of tourists being detained or turned away at the border. Many foreign tourists are less willing to consider vacationing in the U.S., angry at the hostility from the Trump administration to other nations and, in the case of Canada in particular, defiantly deciding to spend their dollars domestically, O'Donnell said. The drop-off in Canadian visitors to the U.S. is not solely attributable to hostile rhetoric from President Donald Trump, O'Donnell said. There are economic factors too, including the strength of the U.S. dollar compared to the Canadian dollar. But he said those challenges are longstanding, and the geopolitical tensions have 'severely exacerbated' the decline in Canadian tourism. The Office of Travel and Tourism said it has done its best to combat the concerns of potential international visitors, assuring foreigners that despite what they see from the U.S. on the national level, Massachusetts remains a welcoming state for foreigners. 'While we recognize that global conditions are shifting and travelers are weighing new factors in their decisions, [Massachusetts] is focused on ensuring that our message to international audiences is clear: Massachusetts is open and ready to welcome all visitors,' Kate Fox, the office's executive director, said in a statement to MassLive. 'Tourism is vital to our economy and our communities, and we remain proactive in reinforcing Massachusetts as a premier destination for visitors from near and far.' The fall-off in foreign visitors is hopefully not as significant for Boston as other areas of the country, O'Donnell said. Another potential silver lining is that Boston is still forecast to see increasing tourism from some parts of the world this year, including India, Brazil and the Middle East. Tourism from countries such as Italy has not dropped off as much as Canada or the U.K. Expanded flights to Boston — including from Madrid, Spain; Edinburgh, Scotland; Milan, Italy; and Vancouver and Halifax, Canada — could also provide a crucial boost for Boston's tourism industry. However, business travel has already taken a hit, data show, including from Canada and Mexico — two of the nation's top trading partners — and from Europe. The combination of dropping international tourism, tariffs, trade wars and unpredictable immigration policies 'really are creating a sense of fear and concern' among small businesses, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said Wednesday. 'Boston has been very clear — we are a city that is welcoming to everyone," she said. 'This is a community where we welcome and protect not just our own residents, but all those who are visiting and all those who help contribute to our vibrant economy.' Americana band hopes to 'slingshot forward' following Boston Calling debut Alex Cora hints at possible Boston Red Sox roster moves with bullpen taxed Red Sox reactions: Offense wastes Lucas Giolito's gem Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer's trip to MLB debut included search for car keys lost 3 weeks ago Red Sox make 5 roster moves: Alex Bregman to IL with 'significant' quad strain Read the original article on MassLive.
