Latest news with #tourismdecline
Forbes
12 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Canadian Boycott Of U.S. Travel Is Going Stronger Than Ever, New Data Says
Canadians boycotting travel to the U.S. intensified in May—cementing a massive economic loss for American tourism this year as visitors from all over the globe rethink travel to the States. Significantly fewer Canadians traveled to the US in May, setting up a big economic loss for American ... More tourism in 2025. The number of Canadians taking road trips into the U.S.—representing the majority of Canadians who visit—dropped by 38% last month compared to May 2024, according to new data from Statistics Canada. There was also a 24% decline in air travelers from Canada was the fifth consecutive month of ever-steeper declines in inbound Canadian travel, following double-digit year-over-year drops in car travel and air travel to the U.S. in April and March. Even a 10% drop in Canadian inbound tourism could see $2.1 billion in lost spending and 140,000 jobs jeopardized in the hospitality and related sectors, the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) warned in February—the new data suggests the losses could be triple or quadruple that forecast. Fewer Americans traveled to Canada in May, with car travel down 8% and air travel down 0.3%, per Statistics Canada data. In recent years, Canadian tourists have made up roughly one-quarter of all foreign travelers who come to the United States, according to the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO). Last year, Canadian tourists vacationing in the U.S. spent $20.5 billion. To put that number into context, it is nearly double the $10.4 billion Americans spent at McDonald's during all of 2024. Canada's leadership warned residents against traveling to the U.S. in early February, after President Donald Trump began talking about tariffs and started referring to Canada as 'the 51st state.' Then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Canadians not to vacation south of the border, and repeated that call to action through April, when he left office. Three-quarters (75%) of Canadians who had been planning a trip to the U.S. say the tariff announcements have influenced their plans, and over half (56%) who had planned to visit the U.S. have decided to travel elsewhere, according to a survey by Leger Marketing of over 1,500 Canadian adults fielded mid-May. No. Over half of Canadians (55%) plan to take a leisure trip this summer, up from 47% who planned a summer trip in 2024, according to the Leger Marketing poll. Only 10% of Canadians plan to travel to the U.S. this summer compared to 23% last year. In contrast, Canadians' domestic travel intentions are soaring, with 77% planning to stay within Canada (up from 69% in 2024). Compared to before President Trump's tariffs were introduced, more Canadians are likely to travel within their home province (48% vs. 38% pre-tariffs) or to another Canadian province (42%, up from 30%). The U.S. is looking at a significant 9% drop in U.S. international arrivals for 2025, and a drop of $8.5 billion (-4.7%) in international visitor spending relative to last year, according to the latest forecast from Tourism Economics, a nonpartisan Oxford Economics company tracking tourism statistics. But the true damage is actually twice as 'catastrophic,' Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics, told Forbes. 'Given trends in our pre-Inauguration forecast, we were expecting a 9% increase in international visitors this year,' Sacks said. 'So the full way to appreciate the loss is relative to the growth that would have happened based on the ongoing recovery that was expected, because we're still well below 2019 levels.' Considering 2025 was forecast to be a big growth year for international inbound visitors, the true loss for the U.S. is far bigger. The World Travel & Tourism Council predicts an even bigger decline in tourism revenue for the U.S., forecasting a loss of $12.5 billion in international visitor spending in 2025. $1.8 billion. That's how much in export revenue is lost for every 1% drop in international visitor spending, according to the USTA. If the downward trajectory continues through the end of the year, the country stands to lose at least $21 billion in travel-related exports. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation led by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) has proposed slashing the budget of Brand USA, the country's public-private destination marketing organization, from $100 million to $20 million. The USTA said it is 'deeply concerned' about the proposal, saying such drastic cuts would 'significantly impact every sector of our industry.' U.S. Now 'Flyover' Country For Canadians—Who Are Traveling To Mexico, Caribbean Instead (Forbes)
The Independent
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Tourists are cancelling trips to the US – here are three reasons why
International travel spending in the United States is projected to fall by $12.5 billion, or seven per cent, in 2025, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). WTTC CEO Julia Simpson said the unpopular policies from the administration of President Donald Trump, fear of being stopped at the border and an unfavourable exchange rate had pushed international tourists towards alternative destinations. "Of 184 countries, the U.S. is the only one that's seeing an absolute decline in international visitor spending," Simpson said. "The U.S. is definitely losing its crown in this area." The U.S. is the largest travel and tourism economy globally, she said. However, international visitor spending in the country is projected to fall under $169 billion this year, down from $181 billion in 2024 and 22 per cent below its previous peak in 2019. A strong dollar, which makes U.S. vacations more expensive, caused a decline in foreign travel spending in the country in 2024, Simpson said, but now politics and worries about crossing the border were also weighing on U.S. visitation figures. In March, Germany updated its U.S. travel advisory to emphasise that a visa or entry waiver does not guarantee entry after several Germans were detained at the border. The Trump administration requires all foreigners 14 or older to register and submit fingerprints if they stay beyond 30 days. This includes Canadians, who previously could visit for up to six months without a visa. "The rest of the world are putting up open signs and getting people to come and see their country," Simpson said. "The U.S. at the minute has firmly got a 'we're not open for business, closed' sign, which is a great shame." While 90 per cent of U.S. travel and tourism spending comes from domestic tourists, Canadian travellers spend three times more on U.S. vacations than Americans, according to the U.S. Travel Association. Overseas visitors spend seven to eight times more than U.S. travellers. Travel from Canada and Mexico, the largest source of inbound visitors to the U.S., is down about 20 per cent year-over-year, the organisation said. Visits from British, German and South Korean travellers are also trending lower. Overall, overseas travel to the U.S. fell about 12 per cent year-over-year in March but rose 8 per cent in April, according to data from the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office.
Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Foreign tourists scared away as US ‘puts up closed sign'
The United States is expected to lose $12.5 billion in international travel spending by the end of the year, according to a report. Analysts said foreign holidaymakers felt discouraged from visiting America, the most powerful travel economy in the world, because of the heated political climate. Reports of tourists being stopped at the border, visa detentions, a tariff war waged by the Trump administration and a higher exchange rate were factors in a decline in spending by international travellers, said the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). It estimated that foreign tourists would spend $169 billion on holidays to the US this year, down 7 per cent from $181 billion last year and 22 per cent from the peak before the pandemic. 'While other
Travel Weekly
13-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
WTTC calls projected decline in international visitors 'a wake-up call' for U.S.
The U.S. is on track to lose $12.5 billion in international visitor spending this year and is projected to be the only country among the 184 analyzed that is forecast to see inbound visitor spending decline in 2025, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) said today. The latest Economic Impact Research from the WTTC and Oxford Economics found that international visitor spending to the U.S. is projected to fall to just under $169 billion this year, down from $181 billion in 2024, a 22.5% decline compared to the previous peak. "The U.S. is welcoming fewer visitors from its neighbors and countries further afield, which is a clear indicator that the global appeal of the U.S. is slipping," the organization said. • On the Folo podcast: The state of travel today The downturn, it added, will impact "communities, jobs and businesses from coast to coast." "This is a wake-up call for the U.S. government," Julia Simpson, the WTTC's CEO, said in a statement. "The world's biggest travel and tourism economy is heading in the wrong direction, not because of a lack of demand but because of a failure to act. While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the 'closed' sign." The concern echoes that of the U.S. Travel Association, whose CEO, Geoff Freeman, recently said that the $50 billion travel trade surplus the U.S. enjoyed 10 years ago has swung to a $50 billion deficit, a $100 billion reversal that threatens to get worse, and called for a welcoming message to potential travelers. A long road back? Simpson added that without urgent action to restore international traveler confidence, it could take several years for the U.S. just to return to prepandemic levels of international visitor spend, not even the peak from 10 years ago. "This is about growth in the U.S. economy -- it is doable, but it needs leadership from DC," she said. Simpson did not cite any of the probable reasons for the downturn, such as the tariffs and tariff threats on countries around the world; President Trump's rhetoric about making Canada the 51st U.S. state; and concerns from European governments about the detainment of European tourists at the Canada and Mexico borders. The WTTC said that U.S. Department of Commerce numbers from March show a "sharp and widespread drop in inbound travel from many of the country's key source markets, such as the U.K. down nearly 15% year over year, Germany down 28%, South Korea down 15% and other key markets such as Spain, Colombia, Ireland, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic all seeing double-digit drops between 24% and 33%. "As widely expected, the Canadian market is drying up, with early summer bookings down over 20% compared to last year," the report said. "This is more than a dip. It's a wake-up call." U.S. is 'losing its crown' The WTTC said that in 2024, nearly 90% of all tourism spending came from domestic travel, with Americans vacationing at home in record numbers. The organization said this heavy reliance on "homegrown tourism is masking a serious vulnerability: The international market is where the real growth lies, and the U.S. is losing its crown." In 2019, the WTTC said, international visitors to the U.S. generated $217.4 billion in revenue and supported almost 18 million jobs. "Today, that legacy is under threat," the organization said. "WTTC is calling for immediate action to address travel access, rebuild international marketing efforts and restore global traveler confidence in the U.S."
The Independent
13-05-2025
- The Independent
Three reasons tourists are cancelling their trips to the US
International travel spending in the US is projected to drop by 7 per cent or $12.5 billion in 2025, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). Unpopular Trump administration policies, border crossing anxieties, and an unfavourable exchange rate are cited as key factors deterring international tourists. The US is the only one of 184 countries experiencing a decline in international visitor spending. While domestic tourism accounts for 90 per cent of US travel spending, international visitors, especially Canadians, significantly outspend American travellers. Travel from Canada and Mexico, major sources of inbound tourism, has decreased by approximately 20 per cent year-over-year.
