Is tourism to america really down

1. Headlines: arrivals were down in 2025 on multiple measures

Industry reporting and international agencies converged on a clear signal that fewer foreigners visited the U.S. in 2025: Reuters reported a 6% drop in foreign visitors for the year ^[1], trade-group snapshots and independent trackers flagged double-digit year-over-year declines for March and other months (U.S. Travel estimated a roughly 14% fall in March vs. a year earlier and Data Appeal noted an 11.6% year-on-year drop in overseas visits in March) ^{[3] [4]}.

2. Spending and timing: record first-half receipts versus decline for the year

Those arrival declines sit alongside apparently contradictory data on spending: the International Trade Administration reported record international visitor spending of $126.9 billion in the first six months of 2025 ^[2], while industry forecasters such as Tourism Economics and the World Travel & Tourism Council projected lower international visitor spending for the full year and flagged the U.S. as an outlier likely to lose billions in 2025 ^{[5] [6] [7]}.

3. Geography and segments: losses concentrated and not uniform

The declines are not evenly spread — Travel Economics and media accounts pointed to steep falls from Canada and parts of Western Europe, and hard-hit destinations such as Las Vegas posted sharp local downturns (Las Vegas visitation down about 7.4% in 2025) ^{[5] [8]}. At the same time, some Asian markets and certain months showed resilience or even growth in bookings, underscoring how national totals can mask regional variability ^[4].

4. Causes flagged: politics, policy, sentiment and the dollar

Analysts and association leaders tied the drop to “sentiment headwinds” linked to political rhetoric and policy, plus exchange-rate and economic dynamics; WTTC and Tourism Economics specifically cited U.S. government policy and negative perceptions as contributors to weakened inbound demand ^{[6] [5]}. Other reporting also pointed to broader global trends — worldwide tourism spending grew even as U.S. arrivals fell, suggesting destination substitution rather than a global collapse ^[1].

5. Domestic travel and industry impact: partial cushioning but real costs

Domestic travel held “relatively steady” in early 2025, which blunted some effects on total travel receipts and local economies ^[3], but multiple outlets warned that even small drops in international visitation have large economic consequences given high per-visitor spending — studies projected potential losses of tens of billions if declines persisted ^{[3] [6] [7]}.

6. Data caveats and competing narratives

The reporting ecosystem contains conflicting snapshots: preliminary short-term monthly drops (March data) coexist with record six-month spending figures and varying yearly projections from different forecasters; sources differ in scope (arrivals vs. spending vs. month-by-month snapshots), and some industry voices emphasize losses while government releases highlight strengths — all of which makes a single headline misleading without nuance ^{[3] [2] [5]}.

7. Bottom line: is tourism to America really down?

Yes — international arrivals and sentiment-sensitive inbound spending showed measurable declines in 2025 across several independent reports (a mid-single-digit yearly drop and sharper month-to-month falls in places and periods), but the story is partial: record first-half spending and resilient domestic travel complicate a simple “collapse” narrative, and geographic and market differences mean impacts vary widely by state, city and origin market ^{[1] [2] [3]}. The balance of evidence supports the conclusion that international tourism softened materially in 2025, with meaningful economic consequences if the trend persists, even as some data points and months paint a less dire picture ^{[6] [7]}.