A lot of news media and idiot utubers are lying to all of us. Travel to the U.S. is flourishing and hitting records. U.S. doesn't need Canadians, and most Canadians are still going there.
Elbows up is total bullshit. Carney better fix the relationship with Trump or we will lose our best customer.
International Tourists to the US Register Record Spending
Industry experts had forecast a dip in tourism income following the policies of the Trump administration.
Naveen Athrappully
8/31/2025|Updated: 8/31/2025
The International Trade Administration announced that visitors spent a record $126.9 billion on U.S. travel and tourism-related goods and services during the first six months of the year, according to an Aug. 27 press release.
“With historic prosperity and President [Donald] Trump’s focus on public safety, people from around the world are coming to visit in record numbers,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. “This administration is delivering on its promises and restoring the United States as THE place to visit, invest, and do business.”
Earlier in 2025, industry experts such as Tourism Economics predicted a decline in travel income and visitor arrivals to the United States following the policies of the Trump administration, especially the set of worldwide tariffs instituted in early April.
“We now expect a 9.4 percent decline in international visitor arrivals for 2025, led by a 20.2 percent decline in visitation from Canada,” an April 25 report from the organization stated.
It also stated that international spending was expected to go down by 5 percent to register a loss of at least $9 billion in 2025.
In a more recent report, Tourism Economics pointed to the fall in tourists from Canada.
Canada accounts for nearly 1.5 million visitors to the United States, one of the largest markets, according to official government data from 2024. The other major markets are Mexico with more than 1.7 million visitors, the UK with about 333,000 visitors, Brazil with 225,000, and Japan with 166,000.
Visitation from Canada dropped by 25.2 percent year-to-date, including a 37 percent drop in land arrivals in July alone, Tourism Economics said.
Canadians were possibly irked by the Trump administration’s strict enforcement of the 30-day rule whereby visitors, including Canadians, are required to register if they stay for more than 30 days. Enforcement of this rule used to be more lenient.
Julia Simpson, World Travel and Tourism Council CEO, said in a May report: “This is a wake-up call for the U.S. government. The world’s biggest Travel & Tourism economy is heading in the wrong direction, not because of a lack of demand, but because of a failure to act. While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the ‘closed’ sign.
“Without urgent action to restore international traveller confidence, it could take several years for the U.S. just to return to pre-pandemic levels of international visitor spend, not even the peak from 10 years ago.”
Booming NumbersThe travel industry accounts for 15 million U.S. jobs and a $2.9 trillion economic output, coming to about 2.5 percent of the national gross domestic product, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
The number of visitors is expected to substantially increase with the FIFA World Cup in 2026, which will be hosted jointly with Canada and Mexico, and with the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
According to the National Travel and Tourism Office, the total volume of international visitors to the United States will increase to 77.1 million in 2025, up by 6.5 percent from 2024. In 2026, it will go up to 85 million, surpassing 2019’s pre-COVID-19 pandemic visitation of 79.4 million, and will reach 96.7 million in 2029.
More than 90 million visitors are forecasted in 2027. The National Travel and Tourism Office said this would meet the five-year goal set by the 2022 National Travel and Tourism Strategy and result in spending worth $279 billion across the nation in 2027.
“The United States offers an unmatched variety of destinations for international travelers, and tourism records will continue to fall under the Trump Administration as the United States prepares to host major international and signature events in the months and years ahead,” Undersecretary of Commerce William Kimmitt said.
According to tourism site Luxury Link, New York state ranks first among states in international tourism, followed by Florida, California, Nevada, and Texas.
As for Americans going abroad, the most popular international destination is Mexico, followed by Canada, and then European countries such as the UK, France, and Italy, according to Statista data. |
