Tourism in the US is facing a emptier period due to the domestic political situation, and now some travelers are also carefully considering whether it is wise to go to countries to which the US administration has made some threatening remarks, writes BBC.
2026 was supposed to be special in the field of tourism in the US – the country celebrates the centennial of its legendary Interstate 66 highway, the 250th anniversary of independence and will also host the FIFA World Cup games. In a normal situation, US hotel owners and airline executives would already be smiling broadly, counting profits in their minds, but events over the year have been far from normal.
Since taking office in 2025, US President Donald Trump and his administration have imposed steep import tariffs on long-time trading partners, repeatedly talked about the possibility of acquiring Greenland, detained tourists upon entry, carried out extensive deportation operations, and may soon begin detailed checks of foreign tourists’ social media profiles before allowing them to enter the country.
Taking into account all the nuances, some countries have already issued warnings about traveling to the US. According to a report by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the US is expected to lose as much as 12.5 billion dollars in 2025 due to a decline in tourist arrivals. Of the 184 countries analyzed by WTTC and Oxford Economics, the US could be the only one whose international tourism revenue has decreased in 2025. Sarah Kopit wrote on travel industry website Skift that a trip to the US was once a dream to aspire to, but now many see it as a political act, a reliance on fate to be allowed in, and a financial burden. The website reported that 46% of travelers surveyed last year said they did not want to go to the US specifically because of Trump.
In just a few weeks this year, the US government has captured the Venezuelan leader, launched strikes on Caracas and announced that it will temporarily govern Venezuela; there has been renewed talk of annexing the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland to the US; and threats of military force have been made against Cuba, Iran, Colombia and Mexico. Thus,
it seems that the government’s decisions affect not only the US itself, but also the flow of tourism in other countries.
Heather Storgaard, a resident of Denmark, had planned to visit friends in Greenland in February, but Trump’s rhetoric has made her think twice about her plan. She noted that she is still thinking about the trip and planning it, but much more cautiously.
Jackie Arruda, who lives in Brazil, also wanted to go to Greenland in May, but is now carefully monitoring the situation to understand whether to cancel the trip. Arruda said that the events in Venezuela showed how quickly threats can turn into action. She stressed that if something happened, she would cancel the trip, but she was also very worried about the safety of her friends living in Greenland and the impact that a possible US invasion could have on the people and future of the Arctic island.
The owner of Havana’s Cuba Careo Tours travel agency said the impact was immediate, and the US administration’s statements had made tourists reconsider their desire to visit Cuba. Moreover, he did not see the situation improving anytime soon, as tourism does not tend to thrive in insecure and unstable conditions.
Laura Rendell-Dunn, a spokeswoman for the British travel agency Journey Latin America, said that
US sanctions against Venezuela had not yet affected bookings for trips to Cuba or Mexico.
While it may be difficult for each individual traveler to assess how seriously to take the US president’s statements, the decision-making process is simple for British travel agents and tour operators. Sean Tipton, a representative of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), pointed out that the line is clear – if the Foreign Office advises against traveling to a particular country, no one will be advised to go there. It is a matter of safety concerns – if someone travels against the Foreign Office’s advice, travel insurance is also not valid. Currently, it is recommended not to travel to Venezuela and Iran, and a warning has been issued to visit Colombia and Mexico only if necessary. Greenland is not included in the lists. Meanwhile, the US State Department’s advice on traveling to Mexico varies depending on the region, with increased caution being exercised when traveling to Cuba and Greenland; travel to Colombia should be seriously considered, while Iran is advised not to visit.
In the case of Greenland, travel agent Inga Rós Antoníusdóttir, who has extensive experience working in the Arctic and northern regions, said that whether media attention is good or bad depends on how the tourism industry uses it. She said that increased media attention for destinations like Greenland can actually generate interest and can be used to tell the story of its unique culture, nature and history.
Mahdi Eshraghi, executive director of Tehran’s Surfiran tourism bureau, said Trump’s statements about military intervention are not the real reason for the drop in tourism. He believes that the decline in tourist numbers has been happening since the US withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 and is not due to a reaction to current political rhetoric.
The tourism industry is all about perception. Less than two years after the US was named one of the top tourist destinations, the country is facing what happens when travelers feel that the risks outweigh the benefits. While it is too soon to conclude whether travelers will refuse to travel to countries that have come under the US government’s scrutiny, the first weeks of January have certainly shown that conditions can change very quickly.
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