US tourism to suffer huge ‘£49 billion drop’ under Donald Trump

As the Trump administration considers banning travel from countries around the world, would-be international tourists are also deciding against spending their holidays exploring the sprawling continent, new research has suggested. Rumoured travel restrictions on people entering the country are one of many policies tipping toward an increasingly isolationist state on the world stage, encapsulated in the US leader’s defining “America First” approach.

If a dip in foreign visitors signalled the success of such a strategy, it would also signal a blow to the US economy, with international travel forecast to drop by around 5% all-in-all this year – contributing to a £49 billion ($64 billion) loss for the , according to the research firm Tourism Economics. ‘s infamous love of tariffs could also have consequences for domestic travel, the company suggested, with American citizens preferring to save money amid “slower income growth and higher prices”. Tourism from abroad, meanwhile, could fall victim to “a trifecta of slower economies, a stronger dollar, and antipathy towards the US”.

The multi-billion-pound losses were linked to a 5.1% drop in international travel to America, down from a previously projected 8.8% increase, and an 11% decrease in spending by non-US visitors.

A controversial approach to the – conflict and threats to absorb Greenland and Canada into the US have also spurred nations around the world to distance themselves from the superpower, with the number of Canadian visitors to the US already down by 15% this year.

“In key origin markets, a situation with polarizing Trump administration policies and rhetoric, accompanied by economic losses to nationally important industries, small businesses and households, will discourage travel to the US,” the report said.

“Some organisations will feel pressure to avoid hosting events in the US, or sending employees to the US, cutting into business travel.”

“Travel from Western Europe, which represented 37% of overseas travel to the US last year, is susceptible to declines as a result of both tariffs and the administration’s perceived recent realignment with in the war with ,” it added.

The UK’s economic forecasts have also been dampened by the mounting global trade war, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cutting its growth predictions from 1.7% to 1.4% for 2025.

However, Canada and Mexico saw the biggest blows to their annual growth forecasts after President Trump announced 25% tariffs on imports from the two countries, alongside China, last month. Canada is predicted to grow by just 0.7% and Mexico to contract by 1.3%.

“Further fragmentation of the global economy is a key concern,” the OECD said in its interim economic outlook report. The organisation also warned that it could have a “significant” impact on living standards, with “consumers [facing] much of the burden of higher tariffs”.