The bellicose remarks and the open trade war of Donald Trump against his close international partners seem to have an effect on tourism. According to several media and an American economic analysis company, many travelers from Europe, Canada or Asia cancel their plane ticket to the United States.
Government data reported by Washington Post Are unequivocal: barely two months after the 47th President of the United States took office, the American tourism industry is already losing billions of dollars. In February, the number of foreign visitors dropped 2.4 % compared to the previous year. The most spectacular declines concern Chinese tourists (-11 %), African (-9 %), Asia (-7 %) and Central (-6 %) travelers. “Canadians avoid Disney World and music festivals. Europeans abandon American national parks, and Chinese tourists choose Australia for their holidays,” said the big American daily.
The company of subsidiary economic forecasting of Oxford Economics, Tourism Economics, which provided an increase of 9 % of tourism in 2025, revised its drastically decreasing estimate. International tourism in the United States should finally drop by 5 % this year, leading to a shortfall of $ 64 billion for the travel industry. The whole, specifies the company, due to “polarizing policies and the rhetoric of the Trump administration”. The figures are so substantial that the hospitality sector has already recorded losses of several tens of thousands of jobs for two months.
The voluntary boycott of Canadian tourists
In question, the particularly hostile speech held since his inauguration by Donald Trump towards nations who were historically the closest allies of the United States. Canada is at the top of the list. Just before his retirement, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadians to no longer cross the border. And called to boycott American products, to respond to a Donald Trump who has been repeating for several weeks wanting to make Canada the 51st State of his Federal Republic.
This neighbor in the North of the United States is its first source of international tourists, who had spent no less than $ 600 million in New York alone (located a few hundred kilometers from the Canadian border) in 2024. And $ 20.5 billion all states combined the same year, according to the US Travel Association.
In 2025, the number of Canadians returning from the United States by car has already dropped by 23 %, and Tourism Economics plans a 15 % drop in Canadian tourism this year. “School groups have canceled their end -of -year trips. The same goes for buses filled with retirees, young honeymoon, friends celebrating their birthdays,” said the New York Times. “In Ottawa, the Agency Travac Tours, which planned to send 16 tourism buses to New York this year, has not received any booking since Trump imposed customs tariffs in Canada this month,” said the daily.
The effects of Trump’s trade war
Donald Trump’s aggressive commercial rhetoric towards the European Union, Canada and China creates uncertainty and revives fears of prices and economic instability. In February, the American president announced an increase at 25 % of customs tariffs for European steel and aluminum, as well as on all Canadian, Mexican and Chinese imports. If the customs duties have since been suspended for Mexico and Canada, Donald Trump was still threatening to impose a 200 % tax on European wines and alcohols.
According to Tourism Economics, the effects of this extended trade war will be concretely palpable in 2025. “National trips will be negatively affected by slower income growth and prices increase, while international trips to the United States will be affected by a slower economies, a stronger dollar and an antipathy towards the United States”, thus concludes the report. For the American channel CBS, the sudden warming of relations between the United States and Russia could largely contribute to this antipathy of the citizens of the European Union, a fervent support of Ukraine.