Tourism declines, U.S. to lose billions in economic output

With foreign tourism declining in the United States, economic output has been projected to decline by several billion dollars.

Tourists looking at Mt. Rushmore, one of America's most renown attractions.

According to the Oxford Economic Report, the United States is expected to lose as much as $8.5 billion in economic output this year due to plummeting levels of tourism into the country. generally, the Oxford press report predicted a whopping 8.7% decline in tourists. In addition, other nations will also be affected negatively; Canada is expected to lose 20% of its tourism industry, while Western Europe 6%.

The decline in global tourism reflects on the backtracking of free trade and the free global movement of people and resources. Ever since the Trump administration took power in the U.S. in January of 2025, tariffs have become the new normal, ushering in a wave of trade wars with a variety of trading partners, either allies or enemies. Trade wars resulted in retaliatory tariffs from the opposing side, and subsequently rising prices and separation of goods between countries, preventing the status quo of free trade from continuing unscathed.

In addition, many immigrants have "boycotted" entering the United States in reaction to the shifting political and ideological dynamic. The response to these tariffs by the global community has been unwavering, and many millions of people affected by the tariffs overseas have intentionally avoiding entering the United States as nationalist fervor spreads globally. In addition, the president's policy of restricting illegal immigration by deporting illegals (sometimes even documented visitors or immigrants) caused tourists to fear entering the country. Especially through the events of Columbia University with Mahmoud Khalil, a documented Algerian immigrant, who was deported without a warrant. Moreover, dozens of American citizens have been wrongfully detained by ICE and sent to foreign prison systems, most of them in El Salvador under the agreement between Trump and El Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele. Worse of all, rising prices globally have prevented more people from affording overseas travel as they have to grapple steeper prices for groceries and other essential goods.

This decline in economic output will inevitably hurt small businesses that rely on tourism in the United States.