The decline has hit US border towns hard. According to The Guardian - Main UK, Aimee Loughran, a bakery owner in Lewiston, New York, reported a 30% drop in revenue due to reduced Canadian tourism. Another local business owner, Judy, who co-owns an antiques store, reported a 20% drop in sales last year. John Percy, chief executive of Destination Niagara, said the organization has stopped advertising to Canadians and is focusing on attracting Americans from other states.
Broader international tourism to the US has also declined, attributed to tighter immigration restrictions and geopolitical tensions under President Donald Trump. Travel from Australia, India and Western Europe fell, according to major media reports. A new visa integrity fee of $250 and plans for social media screening of some visitors have made travel to the US less attractive.
All of our sales on the strip have gone way down.
Meanwhile, China is on track to become the world's top tourism economy in the next few years, according to Bloomberg news agency. The Chinese travel and tourism economy grew 9.9% last year, faster than the US. Gloria Guevara, President and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council, said: "While the US is shrinking, China is rising at a fast rate. If this continues, in three to four years it will close in on the US." The 2026 FIFA World Cup, with 75% of matches hosted across the US, may boost tourism, but former FIFA President Sepp Blatter has suggested that fans avoid going to the US for the event.
Cell phone data from University of Toronto researchers shows steep declines in Canadian visitors to cities in New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Las Vegas, Walt Disney World, and Florida. The decline in visits to high-tech and financial centers like San Francisco and Houston reflects reductions in both tourism and business-related travel. The decline in travel to Grand Rapids, Michigan, is linked to US tariffs on Canadian goods including vehicles, according to researcher Karen Chapple. The researchers noted that the cell phone data may capture return migration of Canadians living temporarily in the US, which could partly explain the discrepancy between the 30% overall drop and the 42% decline in metropolitan areas.
Especially as a single mom, it’s very tough.
While the US is shrinking, China is rising at a fast rate. If this continues, in three to four years it will close in on the US.