New York City is the most popular tourism destination in the US – Image: picture alliance / Sipa USA
Disputes with neighboring countries, barriers to entry and the increased risk of deportation: President Donald Trump’s policies have far-reaching consequences for the US tourism industry.
Herbert Bopp doesn’t plan to travel to the US anytime soon. “For decades, we were among those who loved to visit the neighboring country to the south,” writes the German native on his blog.
Bopp has been living in Canada for many years. Since Trump came into office in January, he’s halted his US travel plans out of protest.
“He wants to make Canada the 51st state, insults our prime minister and ridicules anything that smells of maple syrup,” says Bopp. “We’re supposed to support someone like that with our fine Canadian dollars? Certainly not.”
In recent months, Trump has started a trade war with its ally to the north, threatening to put tariffs on Canadian imports.
The 76-year-old is not the only foreign traveler uninterested in going to the US anytime soon. According to data from Statistics Canada, the number of Canadians returning from a trip to the US by car in February was 23% lower than one year ago.
The US Travel Association, a non-profit organization representing the travel industry in the US, felt compelled to point out the importance of Canadian travelers for the US economy in light of the escalating conflict. “Canada is the top source of international visitors to the United States,” the organization wrote in a press release.
Last year, 20.4 million travelers from the neighboring country spent a total of $20.5 billion during their stay, supporting 140,000 US jobs, continued the organization. When asked for further comment, a representative from the association declined.
Some tourists from abroad are reconsidering their US vacation plans – Image: Barbara Munker/dpa/picture alliance
US tourism industry hopes for a boom
In the next decade, the US tourism industry is hoping for a boom. The country will host of the FIFA World Cup in 2026 (jointly with Canada and Mexico), while the Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles in 2028. The Rugby World Cup will also be held in the US in 2031.
Before Trump took office earlier this year, the US tourism industry was already seeing fewer travelers from abroad. According to official statistics from the US National Travel and Tourism Office, the US counted just over 72 million international arrivals in the USA in 2024. In 2018 and 2019, the figure was around 80 million. France and Spain, meanwhile, have overtaken the US as the world’s most popular travel destinations.
In terms of who is traveling to the US, after Canadians, Mexicans make up the second-largest group of visitors to the States, with just under 17 million people, followed by the UK (4 million), Indians (2.2 million) and Germans (2 million). Naturally, the tourism industry hopes to keep visitor numbers high, but the timing couldn’t be worse.
The Trump administration has announced it is considering barring entry to the US from citizens whose countries do not meet its vetting standards, introduced a more restrictive visa policy, as well as stricter entry controls and a stricter deportation policy.
Several German citizens were denied entry and placed into detention upon arrival in the US. The 29-year-old Berlin tattoo artist Jessica Brösche was taken into custody by US Customs and Border Protection and held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center for more than six weeks after attempting to cross to the US from Tijuana, Mexico.
As a result, the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin is now informing German travelers about the stricter requirements. “A criminal conviction in the United States, false information regarding the purpose of stay, or even a slight overstay of the visa upon entry or exit can lead to arrest, detention, and deportation upon entry or exit,” information on the ministry’s website says.
The German government also issued a warning to transgender and nonbinary citizens and residents planning to visit the US, saying that anyone whose passport contains the gender marker “X,” or whose gender entry differs from the gender entry given at birth, should contact a US diplomatic mission before traveling.
As one of his first official acts, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January that officially recognizes only two biological sexes in the US — male and female.
Border controls have become more strict under the new Trump administration – Image: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/picture alliance
US tour operators see less demand
Timo Kohlenberg, managing director of America Unlimited, a German tour operator organizing trips to the US and Canada, has noticed that fewer Germans are interested in going on vacation in the US.
“There has been a noticeable drop in demand since March,” he says. He is increasingly being told by customers that they would rather go to Canada this time, citing current US policies.
However, Martin Lohmann from the research organization Forschungsgemeinschaft Urlaub und Reisen, who has been studying the travel patterns of tourists for decades, doesn’t feel this will be a significant trend.
He says history has shown that the majority of travelers are not influenced by political events when choosing a vacation destination. “We’ve already had four years of Trump,” says Lohmann. “That didn’t have a major impact on tourism either.”
In parts of the US that are popular vacation destinations for Canadians, things are certainly looking different.
In the state of Vermont, for example, which borders Canada, local media have reported droves of Canadians canceling their trips in protest of Trump and his policies.
Blogger Herbert Bopp is among them. He feels sorry for the Americans who don’t support the president’s actions but are also affected by the Canadians’ boycotts, yet he still wants to “send a message” by skipping trips to the US — at least for the foreseeable future. (DW/NAN 08-04-25)
You may also like:
USA: What does Trump’s second term mean for the climate?
As Donald Trump hustles to assemble his governing team, environmental analysts have been looking for signs of what to expect from his second term. And for many, the outlook is bleak. Donald Trump, an avowed climate skeptic, has made no secret of his plans for his second presidency. On the campaign trail and since weiterlesen…
