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The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has estimated that the US is on track to lose over $12.5 billion USD in international visitor spending in 2025, representing a 22.5% decline.
The US is expected to take a sizeable hit in tourism spending this year, a new estimate by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed.
The WTTC is a global body that represents the travel and tourism private sector. It projects that US international visitor spending will fall to under $169 billion USD this year, a $12.5 billion USD loss over 2024. This is a 22.5% decline from a peak of $181 billion USD.
Such a sharp decrease is expected to impact more than just tourism, and may also include the country’s economy as a whole. Jobs, communities and businesses could be affected, the WTTC says.
It is also reportedly the only country among 184 economies to see spending decline this year, making it an extreme outlier.
What’s causing such bleak numbers, you might ask? The WTTC believes it is a direct response to the Trump administration’s intense stance on immigration and travel. Reports of false detaining of tourists and strict border controls in 2025 may be putting off travellers who would otherwise have no issue with flying to the US.
‘This is a wake-up call for the US government,’ says WTTC president and CEO Julia Simpson. ‘[Such a sharp decline] is not because of a lack of demand, but because of a failure to act. While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the US is putting up the “closed” sign.’
90% of all tourism spending came directly from domestic travel last year, as Americans moved about the country without going overseas. That might be fine on a foundational level, but an over reliance on local holidays leaves the US far weaker and less prone to growth.
International travel is where the US can gain the most, yet it has seen its key markets drop off. UK arrivals are down 15%, Germany has dropped 28%, and other key markets such as Spain, Colombia and Ireland have all dropped between 24% and 33%.
According to the WTTC, the US is at serious risk if it does not act. ‘Relying on domestic travellers might have kept the lights on during the pandemic,’ it says, ‘but without a bold international recovery plan, [the US] risks falling further behind.’
