For international tourists, traveling to the United States seems less inviting these days.
The combination of trade policies of President Donald Trump and hostile rhetoric towards a large part of the rest of the world create cooling of international trips to the United States, which could have a significant economic impact, with a Wall Street company projecting American income could collapse up to 90 billion dollars this year, combined with a reduction in American travel and boycotts.
Canada tourism has seen the greatest drop after Trump directly targeted the country through commercial restrictions and indirectly suggesting that the northern neighbor and the nearby ally could become the “51st state” of the United States
Data from customs travelers and American border protection show that visitors cross the North border down 12.5% in February from one year to the next and March for March.
Visitors from Western Europe, another traditional allied region, also fell, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office, a division of the US trade department. Some vacationers from the most reliable countries of the most reliable origin, such as the United Kingdom and Germany, have chosen not to visit the American trips in these countries decreased up to 29% in March.
In total, visitors from Western Europe saw a drop of 12% in March, one of the highest ever recorded outside the pandemic.
“Several data sources point to a slowdown – and there are many anecdotes that indicate an even more serious slowdown,” said Jan Freitag, Vice -President Director of Housing Information for Str Global and National Director, Hospitality Analytics for Cost Group.
Trump struck the western allies most directly through prices on cars and car parts, as well as steel and aluminum. European imports are currently faced with an obligation of 10%, but for the moment Trump has interrupted a second cycle of tariffs on the nations of the European Union. He also exempted most articles from Canada – as well as Mexico – from 25% of imports on imports he had sought to impose on these two nations.
Even with these rescue measures, there has been a worsening of feeling against the United States which is likely to have economic repercussions for its residents.
In a recent note to customers, Goldman Sachs analysts said that in the worst case, the United States should lose up to $ 90 billion in revenues this year from the combined impact of reduced visits and canceled the purchases of American goods.
“Our estimates … suggest that the foreign boycotts of American products will probably impose a modest drag on the growth of American GDP in 2025, mainly driven by a withdrawal of foreign tourism,” said analysts in a note dated March 31, before the announcement of Trump’s “liberation day” on April 2.
“Although small, this front wind provides another reason – in addition to the more direct negative impacts of prices and streaks on exports of foreign reprisals which are already integrated into our forecasts of the American GDP – The growth of American GDP underperforms the expectations of consensus in 2025.”
The negative feelings that the Trump administration has caused a long -standing allies do not overthrow in a short period of time even if the president relaxes his posture, said Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics, an Oxford economy consulting unit.
“The damage has been caused,” he said. While the benefits can always be somewhat attenuated if Trump softens his position, “it will take time for things to divide and people warmed up to the United States”
Sacks said travel groups report much less reservations. However, representatives of certain American tourist hot spots, such as Miami and Niagara Falls, say they have not yet seen any major evidence that a slowdown is in progress.
David Whitaker, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, said that the total weight of administration movements had been widely affected after the city’s advanced tourist season in winter and early spring, and that the reservations and tariffs of the chambers have been held so far. Miami is also shaken by its diversified international visitors base and the fact that these visitors tend to be easier.
But he said there would still be an impact in the weeks and months to come.
“Ask me again in May,” he said.
The Canadians still arrived en masse for a recent hockey game in New York against Buffalo Sabers, said John Percy, president and chief executive officer Niagara USA. Although it is too early to indicate the precise impact on the economy of his city, all reduced expenses lying through the western New York communities in the form of a reduction in tax revenue which help to pay essential services such as police and fires.
“We don’t make the snowball effect,” he said.