Are Donald Trump’s stringent immigration policies, expansive tariffs, and nationalist rhetoric deterring European tourists from visiting the United States?
The number of visitors to the United States from Western Europe in March fell by 17 percent from the same month a year earlier, but then picked up 12 percent in April, according to the US tourism office.
The German Travel Association (DRV) said the number of Germans going to the United States dropped 28 percent in March, but then bounced back by 14 percent in April.
The association’s spokesperson, Torsten Schäfer, said that the Easter holidays fell later this year than in 2024, which may have impacted the figures.
“There’re practically no requests in recent months to change or cancel reservations,” Schaefer said. However, he noted “a rise in queries about entry requirements into the United States”.
At the end of March, several European countries urged their nationals to review their travel documents for the United States, following several high-profile cases of Europeans being detained upon arrival and subsequently deported.
Anecdotally, there are signs of Europeans opting not to visit Trump’s America.
“The country I knew no longer exists,” said Raphael Gruber, a 60-year-old German doctor who has been taking his family to Cape Cod in Massachusetts every summer since 2018.
“Before, when you told the immigration officer you were there for whale-watching, that was a good reason to come. But now, they are afraid of everything that comes from outside,” he told AFP.
Referring to invasive electronic checks at the US borders, he added: “I don’t want to buy a ‘burner’ phone just to keep my privacy”.
In Britain, Matt Reay, a 35-year-old history teacher from Northamptonshire, said he had scratched the United States off his list, preferring to go to South America, where his “money would probably be better spent”.
“It feels like, to be honest, that there’s a culture that’s built in the US in the last kind of 12 months, where as a foreign visitor, I don’t really feel like I’m that welcome anyway,” he said.
Reay said he felt “insulted” by both Trump’s tariffs on British exports to the United States and comments by Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, about Britain as “a random country”.
Trump’s public belittling of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a White House visit in February was also “outrageous”, he said.
According to the US tourism office, however, the number of British visitors to the United States in April increased by 15 percent year-over-year, following a 14 percent decline in March.
Oxford Economics, an economic research firm, attributed the March decline partly to the Easter dates this year, along with a stronger US dollar at the time, which made the United States a more costly destination.
However, it primarily highlighted “polarising rhetoric and policy actions by the Trump administration, as well as concerns around tighter border and immigration policies.”
Didier Arino, head of the French travel consultancy Protourisme, said April traffic to the United States might have picked up because European airlines were offering discounted flights.
“You can find flights, especially for New York, at 600 euros ($680),” he said.
In Germany, Muriel Wagner, 34, said she was not postponing a summer trip to Boston to see a friend at Harvard—a U.S. university embroiled in a legal and ideological struggle with Trump’s administration.
“I’ve been asked if the political situation and trade war with the US has affected our trip,” the PhD student said in Frankfurt.
But “you can’t let yourself be intimidated”, she said, adding that she was keen to discuss the tensions with Americans on their home turf.
Protourisme’s Arino said that, as “the mood has sunk” regarding the United States, potential tourists were rethinking a visit.
On top of the “financial outlay, being insulted by the US administration for being European, that really robs you of the desire” to go there, he said.
He estimated that the “Trump effect” would reduce the number of French tourists visiting the United States this year by a quarter.
A body representing much of the French travel sector, Entreprises du Voyage, said the number of French visitors to America dropped eight percent in March, and a further 12 percent in April. It is estimated that summer departures to the United States would drop by 11 percent.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, covering major tourism operators, the US tourism sector — already reeling from Canadians and Mexicans staying away — could lose $12.5 billion in spending by foreign visitors this year.
Canada remains the leading source of tourists, with approximately 20.5 million visitors in 2024. Proximity, shared borders, and strong economic ties make the U.S. an accessible destination for Canadians.
Mexico ranks second, sending around 17 million tourists. Improved airline connectivity and a growing Mexican middle class have fueled this surge. Many Mexican visitors head to border states like Texas and California. Medical tourism also plays a key role in surging numbers.
The UK remains a prominent contributor, with about 4.04 million visitors in 2024. British tourists are drawn to urban centers like New York City and Los Angeles, as well as theme parks in Florida.
India has emerged as a significant player, with 2.2 million visitors in 2024. This growth reflects India’s booming middle class. Indian tourists, including a notable proportion of students and business travelers, tend to favor destinations in the Midwest and along the coast.
Germany sent approximately 1.7 million tourists to the U.S. in 2024. German visitors are attracted to national parks, cultural sites, and major cities. However, economic challenges in Germany, partly due to U.S. trade policies, have led to a decline in bookings compared to previous years.
With inputs from Agence France-Presse
