Tourists are avoiding the United States despite a global travel boom, according to data from the World Travel & Tourism Council. International travel surged in 2025, with 80 million more trips taken worldwide compared to the year before, WTTC said. But many tourists are forgoing the U.S. for other destinations. North America was the slowest-growing region, with U.S. inbound travel rising by less than 1 percent, while the Asia-Pacific region jumped 8.2 percent. “The U.S. is losing market share,” WTTC CEO Gloria Guevara told USA Today, warning China could overtake it as the world’s largest tourism market within four years. President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown “created a chilling effect that made international visitors rethink trips to the United States,” the newspaper reported. The National Travel and Tourism Office reported a 20 percent drop in Canadian visitors—about 4.2 million fewer trips—alongside broader declines tied to increased border scrutiny. European countries, including Germany, Denmark, Finland, and the United Kingdom, also issued advisories about U.S. entry risks. “We are the only major destination in the world losing visitors. That is a problem we need to solve,” U.S. Travel Association president and CEO Geoff Freeman said in a statement.
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