US tourism takes $90bn hit amid travel slump

WASHINGTON: The number of international visitors to the United States has dropped sharply since President Trump began his second term, CBS News reported on Tuesday.

According to data from the International Trade Administration, there was a 2.4% drop in foreign travel to the U.S. in February 2025 compared to the same month last year. But the decline became much steeper in March, falling by 11.6%. Experts say this sharp drop is mainly due to the Trump administration’s immigration and trade policies.

The situation worsened in March when the U.S. government imposed new restrictions affecting even Green Card holders, such as Mahmood Khalil, discouraging many from visiting.

This is in contrast to last year, when the U.S. Commerce Department had predicted a 9% increase in foreign travel. However, the latest figures show a different trend.

Western European countries like the UK, Spain, and Germany are now advising their citizens not to travel to the U.S., resulting in a 17.2% drop in visitors from that region in March 2025 compared to the same time last year. Travel from the Caribbean and Central America also dropped sharply by 26%, and visitors from Africa declined by 12.4%.

However, the number of tourists from the Middle East rose by 17.7%, and from Eastern Europe by 1.5%. According to Goldman Sachs, the decline in tourism could cost the U.S. economy up to $90 billion. This includes losses from reduced spending on travel, hotels, restaurants, theme parks, and other tourism-related businesses—what some are calling the “Trump Effect.”

Meanwhile, global tourists are now choosing destinations like Europe, where demand for rental homes is growing. Bermuda is becoming popular with Canadian tourists, and Japan is also seeing a rise in visitors.