The number of foreign visitors to the United States continues to decline, as a range of policies put forth by the administration of US President Donald Trump has made tourists wary of traveling to the country.
In July, foreign visits to the US decreased by 3 percent year-over-year, according to recently released preliminary government data.
This decline follows a trend that has been seen almost every month since Trump took office in late January. For five out of six months, the US has experienced a drop in foreign visitors.
“Everyone is afraid, scared – there’s too much politics about immigration,” Luise Francine, a Brazilian tourist visiting Washington, DC, told newsmen.
Experts and some local officials say Trump’s tariffs, immigration crackdown, and repeated jabs about the US acquiring Canada and Greenland have alienated travelers from other parts of the world.
Ryan Bourne, an economist at the Cato Institute, told newsmen that the decline in tourism was tied to both Trump’s rhetoric and policies. “[The decrease] can be put down to the president’s trade wars and some of the fallout about fears about getting ensnared in immigration enforcement”.
Travel research firm Tourism Economics predicted last week that the US would see 8.2 percent fewer international arrivals in 2025 – an improvement from its earlier forecast of a 9.4 percent decline, but well below the numbers of foreign visitors to the country before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The sentiment drag has proven to be severe,” the firm said, noting that airline bookings indicate “the sharp inbound travel slowdown” of May, June, and July would likely persist in the months ahead.
While the July 2025 figures don’t account for neighboring Canada and Mexico, Canadian visitors in particular have been plummeting in number.
One-quarter fewer Canadians have visited the US this year compared to the same period in 2024, according to Tourism Economics. In a major U-turn, more US residents drove into Canada in June and July than Canadians made the reverse trip, according to Canada’s national statistical agency.
Statistics Canada stated that this was the first time this had occurred in nearly two decades, except for two months during the pandemic.
A new $250 “visa integrity fee”, set to go into effect on October 1, adds a hurdle for travelers from non-visa waiver countries like Mexico, Argentina, India, Brazil, and China.
The extra charge raises the total visa cost to $442, one of the highest visitor fees in the world, according to the US Travel Association. “Any friction we add to the traveler experience is going to cut travel volumes by some amount,” said Gabe Rizzi, president of Altour, a global travel management company.
The decline in foreign tourism to the US is a concerning trend that reflects the impact of Trump’s policies on the country’s reputation and economy.
As the situation continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how the US travel industry will adapt to these changes and whether the country will be able to regain its position as a top destination for international travelers.