WTTC calls projected decline in international visitors 'a wake-up call' for U.S.
The U.S. is on track to lose $12.5 billion in international visitor spending this year and is projected to be the only country among the 184 analyzed that is forecast to see inbound visitor spending decline in 2025, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) said today.
The latest Economic Impact Research from the WTTC and Oxford Economics found that international visitor spending to the U.S. is projected to fall to just under $169 billion this year, down from $181 billion in 2024, a 22.5% decline compared to the previous peak.
"The U.S. is welcoming fewer visitors from its neighbors and countries further afield, which is a clear indicator that the global appeal of the U.S. is slipping," the organization said.
• On the Folo podcast: The state of travel today
The downturn, it added, will impact "communities, jobs and businesses from coast to coast."
"This is a wake-up call for the U.S. government," Julia Simpson, the WTTC's CEO, said in a statement. "The world's biggest travel and 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."
The concern echoes that of the U.S. Travel Association, whose CEO, Geoff Freeman, recently said that the $50 billion travel trade surplus the U.S. enjoyed 10 years ago has swung to a $50 billion deficit, a $100 billion reversal that threatens to get worse, and called for a welcoming message to potential travelers.
A long road back?
Simpson added that without urgent action to restore international traveler confidence, it could take several years for the U.S. just to return to prepandemic levels of international visitor spend, not even the peak from 10 years ago.
"This is about growth in the U.S. economy -- it is doable, but it needs leadership from DC," she said.
Simpson did not cite any of the probable reasons for the downturn, such as the tariffs and tariff threats on countries around the world; President Trump's rhetoric about making Canada the 51st U.S. state; and concerns from European governments about the detainment of European tourists at the Canada and Mexico borders.
The WTTC said that U.S. Department of Commerce numbers from March show a "sharp and widespread drop in inbound travel from many of the country's key source markets, such as the U.K. down nearly 15% year over year, Germany down 28%, South Korea down 15% and other key markets such as Spain, Colombia, Ireland, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic all seeing double-digit drops between 24% and 33%.
"As widely expected, the Canadian market is drying up, with early summer bookings down over 20% compared to last year," the report said. "This is more than a dip. It's a wake-up call."
U.S. is 'losing its crown'
The WTTC said that in 2024, nearly 90% of all tourism spending came from domestic travel, with Americans vacationing at home in record numbers. The organization said this heavy reliance on "homegrown tourism is masking a serious vulnerability: The international market is where the real growth lies, and the U.S. is losing its crown." In 2019, the WTTC said, international visitors to the U.S. generated $217.4 billion in revenue and supported almost 18 million jobs.
"Today, that legacy is under threat," the organization said. "WTTC is calling for immediate action to address travel access, rebuild international marketing efforts and restore global traveler confidence in the U.S."
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