Few and fewer tourists are traveling to the US, which is also reflected in flight prices: from Frankfurt am Main to New York you can now fly for 250 euros, reports the German public media ZDF.
It is logical: weaker demand leads to a drop in prices. This is good for everyone who wants to travel to the former "land of unlimited opportunities", which the US once had a reputation for. But that time seems to have passed, the publication also says.
Hostile rhetoric, punitive tariffs, tourist detentions
The American tourism industry imagined things differently. After a significant increase in foreign tourists last year, forecasts for 2025 were for a return to pre-pandemic levels. However, after the first quarter, there has been a sharp decline in travelers to the United States.
Influenced by Trump's punitive tariffs and his hostile rhetoric, but also worried by reports of tourist detentions at the border, foreign visitors are now avoiding the United States and preferring to travel elsewhere, writes ZDF and cites data from Tourism Economics, a unit of the consulting company Oxford Economics. According to these data, visits to the United States will not reach pre-pandemic levels before 2029. "All studies have recorded a combination of cancelled trips and a huge drop in travel intentions", the company says.
This is also confirmed by aviation expert Heinrich Grossbongard: "The United States was a symbol of freedom, of beautiful nature, and now we see a divided country that shows its ugly face".
The decline in tourists from Canada is the strongest
The number of tourists to the United States has been falling since Donald Trump took office in January, the ZDF publication further states. According to preliminary data from the US government, 11.6% fewer people traveled to the US in March compared to the same month last year.
The number of tourists from Canada, on which Trump imposed trade restrictions and even talked about the country becoming the 51st US state, has decreased drastically, NBC News reports on its website. In February, Canadians traveling to the US were 12.5% fewer, and in March a decrease of 18 percent was recorded, the American publication reports.
According to data from the National Travel and Tourism Service of the US Department of Commerce, visitors from Western Europe are also withdrawing. For example, in March, trips from the UK and Germany decreased by 29 percent, and from Denmark - by as much as 34 percent. Overall, Western Europe saw a 12 percent decline, NBC News reported.
The negative sentiment that the Trump administration is instilling among its longtime allies is unlikely to reverse anytime soon - even if the US president softens his stance, says Adam Sachs, head of Tourism Economics: "The damage has already been done," he said. While there is still a chance that the consequences will be somewhat mitigated if Trump changes his behavior, "it will take time for things to calm down and for people to become positive about the United States again," the expert says.
The only small "islands" where the negative trend is not yet felt so strongly are traditional tourist centers such as Miami and Niagara Falls, NBC News specifies.
Up to $90 billion in losses this year
The publication also cites forecasts for the expected negative consequences for the American economy: Losses from the outflow of tourists and boycotts of American products could reach $90 billion this year. And the desire of many tourists to travel again to the "land of unlimited opportunities" will probably only return after Trump leaves the White House, ZDF concludes.
Emilian Lilov (editor)