The Trump Effect? Some Europeans Rethink U.S. Travel

International tourists are rethinking their travel plans to the United States. According to Ceylan Yeğinsu of the New York Times, travelers around the world are being put off by the Trump administration’s recent actions, including its new policies and rhetoric. Where the research firm Tourism Economics had initially predicted international travel to the U.S. to grow by 9 percent this year, it recently downgraded its forecast to a 5 percent contraction.

Some Europeans are among those rethinking their trips to the United States in protest against Trump. According to National Travel and Tourism Office data from the first quarter of 2025, there was a noticeable drop in international arrivals, with the decline accelerating in March. Compared to the same period in 2024, the number of travelers from Western Europe—including both tourists and business visitors—fell by roughly 17 percent last month, and by 7 percent overall since January.

The trend is particularly pronounced in countries like Germany, Ireland, and Spain, where arrivals dropped more than 20 percent in March alone.