President Donald Trump‘s policies are reportedly the cause of a sharp decline in overseas tourism to the U.S. A new report claims that international tourists are avoiding a visit to America, sparking concerns about the country’s global image.
Tourist visit to US drops after Donald Trump’s policies, claims report
According to a recent report by CNN, international tourism to the U.S. fell by 5.5% in 2025, with roughly four million fewer overseas visitors compared to the previous year. The decline has also resulted in over $8 billion less spending by tourists. The data marks the sharpest decline in tourism in over two decades, with the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report says that the reason behind fewer tourists coming to the U.S. is “presidential rhetoric and policies” under the Donald Trump administration, “manifesting in highly public wars.” The countries from where tourists have avoided visiting the U.S. include Germany, India, France, Australia, Chile, and China. However, the largest drop in the numbers comes from Canada.
Juliette Kayyem, faculty chair of the Homeland Security Project at the Harvard Kennedy School and CNN senior national security analyst, has stated, “We used to be a country that others wanted to emulate. That narrative no longer exists.”
Kayyem went on to explain that the significant influence of America’s soft power, which is bigger than its military power, has begun decreasing. This is because the world is now being shown a filtered narrative about the country. She said, “If you’re a foreigner now, what you’re absorbing about the United States is a dysfunctional government, ICE raids, Americans being killed, crime everywhere.”
Kayyem further stated that with fewer people visiting the U.S., “the long-term harm is that the world will not know America … the narrative of the United States is now a country that is at best, not to be respected, and at worst, a democracy that is floundering.”
Originally reported by Namrata Ghosh on Mandatory.
