America stands alone in what industry experts are calling an unprecedented tourism crisis. As international travelers cancel trips and reroute vacations away from the United States, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) projects the U.S. will lose a staggering $12.5 billion in visitor spending this year.

The culprit? A sweeping campaign of detentions, interrogations, and deportations of foreign visitors by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under President Trump’s administration.

“This is a wake-up call for the U.S. government,” said Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO. “The world’s biggest Travel & Tourism economy is heading in the wrong direction, not because of a lack of demand, but because of a failure to act.”

The numbers are stark. International visitor spending in the U.S. is projected to fall to just under $169 billion this year, down from $181 billion in 2024. According to the WTTC’s latest Economic Impact Research, the U.S. is the only country among 184 economies analyzed forecast to see international visitor spending decline in 2025.

The evidence of collapse is already visible at borders nationwide. Canadian visitors—traditionally America’s largest international market—have reduced trips by 32% in March alone. Major airlines including Air Canada and WestJet have canceled routes to popular U.S. destinations including Las Vegas, New York, and Los Angeles.

Europeans are staying away in record numbers too. According to U.S. Department of Commerce data, arrivals from the UK fell nearly 15%, Germany plunged more than 28%, and South Korea declined almost 15%. Other key markets saw double-digit drops between 24% and 33%.

Tourism economists who once projected growth are now forecasting disaster.

“You’re looking at substantial losses this year, about a $10 billion loss this year in international travel spending relative to last year,” said Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics. “It comes down to the basic principle that travelers can go wherever they want, whenever they want.”

The human stories behind these statistics reveal why travelers are avoiding America. Cheryl, a Canadian who typically spends $10,000 annually visiting family in Iowa, canceled her trip this year.

“I don’t feel safe,” she told The Guardian. “I love my kids and family more than anything, it’s only feeling unsafe is stopping me. I’m too old and tired to sleep on concrete.”

Her fears aren’t unfounded. Foreign visitors have faced detention at airports, device searches, and interrogations about their social media activity. Some have been deported to countries they’ve never visited—simply for administrative technicalities or for no valid reason at all.

The economic ripple effects extend far beyond airlines and hotels. Tourism contributed $2.6 trillion to the U.S. economy last year and supported more than 20 million jobs. The sector generated more than $585 billion in tax revenue, accounting for almost 7% of all government income.

“This isn’t just about tourists,” explained Jackie Filla, president of the Hotel Association of Los Angeles, to the LA Times. “The way we are perceived globally is we are blowing up not just our economy but everyone else’s economy. People don’t think it’s good, they don’t think it’s fair, so why would they go to America?”

While President Trump dismissed the tourist decline as “not a big deal” and claimed “we treat our tourists great,” economic analysts paint a different picture. The tourism collapse represents just one part of what experts project could be trillions in economic damage over the next decade.

What distinguishes this crisis from previous tourism downturns is its self-inflicted nature. The aggressive ICE enforcement appears designed primarily to surpass deportation figures from previous administrations—particularly those under President Biden.

“It’s as if international goodwill and long-term economic stability are being sacrificed for a deportation scoreboard,” said a former Department of Commerce official who requested anonymity. “This isn’t border security—it’s a competition that ignores fundamental economic realities.”

Border states are bearing the brunt regardless of political affiliation. Florida, Texas, California and New York—states heavily dependent on international tourism—are all experiencing sharp declines.

“It’ll affect blue states and red states alike,” Sacks noted. “There’s nowhere to hide.”

Tourism industry leaders are now calling for immediate policy changes to restore international confidence. Without intervention, they warn the economic damage could take a decade to reverse—long after the current administration leaves office.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world is rolling out welcome mats as America puts up “closed” signs, shifting billions in tourism spending to more welcoming destinations.