United States is set for a steep fall in tourist earnings in 2025, with the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) anticipating an international visitor expenditure decline of $12.5 billion. Shared with Bloomberg exclusively, the WTTC estimate anticipates foreign tourist spending to dip below $169 billion down by 7% compared to 2024, and 22% short of 2019’s pre-pandemic high.
Alarming, the US is the only country among 184 economies studied by the WTTC and Oxford Economics that is projected to lose tourism dollars this year. WTTC CEO Julia Simpson explained the decline as being due to uninviting travel policies, a high US dollar, and political rhetoric that has deterred foreign visitors.
“The US is shut off to the rest of the world, while the rest of the world is rolling out the red carpet,” Simpson stated. She highlighted that tourism is a pillar of the American economy, which injects $2.6 trillion and supports 20 million jobs. The industry also yields $585 billion in tax revenue 7% of all federal income.
Pandemic travel restrictions, favorable exchange rates, and global mood swings have battered US tourism, particularly from European and Asian visitors. March 2025 experienced substantial decreases in visitation from large markets, including the UK (15% lower), Germany (28% lower), and South Korea (15% lower).
New York City, which was once looking forward to complete recovery in 2025, has now lowered estimates downwards, looking at 400,000 fewer visitors and a loss of $4 billion as compared to 2024. Upstate New York is also witnessing similar dips, with Canadian travel plummeting.
Simpson cautioned that planned increases to the ESTA visa charge would further harm tourism. She called on policymakers to reconsider limits and move with international trends towards relaxing travel, as competitors such as India, China, and Europe are already making inroads.
