11 million visitors short: Inside America’s continuing tourism slump
Michelle Cowley, a London-based communications specialist, and her husband spent nearly two years planning a $16,000 vacation to Walt Disney World in Florida. Then their children, ages 7 and 11, heard about Renee Good and Alex Pretti being killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and didn’t want to go.
Comments by President Donald Trump in January, including threats to annex Greenland and criticisms of British military contributions in Afghanistan, sealed the family’s decision.
“We have decided that it really is not the place we want to be at the moment,” Cowley said.
Last year, as tourism grew worldwide, the United States was the only major destination to see a decline in foreign visitors, recording a 6% drop, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council, an industry group. January saw a continued decline in inbound visitors, down 4.8% from January 2025.
Visitors from Canada, usually the second-largest source of U.S. tourism after Mexico, plunged by 28% in January compared with January 2024.