Summary

The US tourism industry faces a major decline as harsh immigration policies deter visitors.

High-profile detentions of Western travelers have led to a forecasted 9% decrease in visits, reversing a previously expected 5% rise, and risking a $64 billion loss.

Germany and the UK updated travel advisories following detentions of citizens without clear visa violations.

Canadian tourism also dropped significantly amid tariff threats. Denmark and Finland warned transgender travelers about entry issues.

Experts cite anti-immigrant rhetoric and unpredictable enforcement as key deterrents.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    53 months ago

    Too bad they are loosing this easy and pleasurable source of income with lots of jobs that do not require a college education but can pay very well, if done right. I am a traveled European and worked and lived all over the world, and visited the United States for business and pleasure several times. There are many amazingly beautiful places to see, as long as you avoid the big cities. Immigration services at the customs where always nerve-wracking with their intimidating questions, but I see that now as a necessary good thing, seeing the influx of immigrants in my own continent. It has been some time I decided never to go back because of the social problems, but the Everglades, Yosemite, Grand Canyon and Redwood trees in California are engraved in my memories for ever.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    723 months ago

    Good, this gives me a little hope that the rest of the world is starting to understand how awful the US is, and that there just might be a few actual consequences for that awfulness.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      63 months ago

      The nature and scenery in the US is honestly stunning, and you’re lucky to have the NPS to make all of it so accessible.

      In saying that though; there is natural beauty everywhere you look in the world and it’s very easy, and often cheaper to go elsewhere.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      73 months ago

      Note this means tourist areas should see prices drop on food in grocery stores because the supply was being created pre-decreased population. The decreased cash flow will hurt businesses and the suppliers will decrease production as to not have to sell at slim to no margins which will bring the prices back up soon enough (or the farmers/distributers will go out of business themselves).

      It will give people in those areas a false narrative for the time being though because they will be happy about lower prices and less car traffic… But all the resteraunts will have less patrons, and less money going to servers, less jobs to be had eventually.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        53 months ago

        I doubt prices will drop as fast as bankruptcies will increase because the distribution chain has that price inflation and it will react slowly. The tighter the margin the more quickly the business will fail.

        Employment will also drop quickly because firing people is a fast and easy way to reduce overhead so service quality will dive off a cliff.

        But, hey, less traffic! Yay!

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      53 months ago

      Nah, couldn’t be the illegal imprisonment end torture random citizens and tourists have been experiencing.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    213 months ago

    None of the researchers in my lab go to conferences in the US anymore (there is remote participation since covid).

  • yeehaw
    link
    fedilink
    103 months ago

    I am starting to wonder how Americans would vote now if trump allows another election?

    • WrenM
      link
      fedilink
      63 months ago

      I’m pretty sure we all know how everyone would vote if given the chance to do it again. I only wish those that didn’t would have the humility it takes to admit they made a huge mistake.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        43 months ago

        Are y’all ignoring that he has a 54% approval rating last I saw? Americans want this. Those of us who don’t are going to be systematically silenced and eliminated.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      43 months ago

      I live in a red state. We have a method of voting individual bills into our constitution as a majority process.

      We have voted in a reform to get big money out of our politics. The Republican majority in the state forced another vote with the most obfuscated language to get the state to overturn it. We have voted time and time again against Right to Work which is an anti-union bill. The Republicans have constantly tried to get it to happen. St Louis managed to get its police out from under State control, leaving Kansas City the only state in the nation with the state controlling the cities police… until the Republican ran state forced St. Louis back under its control.

      We voted in a higher minimum wage and guarantees for sick leave. We also voted in protections for abortions overturning the harshest ban in the state. These were overwhelming majorities. We as a state also overwhelmingly voted Republicans in, who have just overturned the min wage and sick leave bill, and are trying to figure out how to overturn the abortion protections.

      So if we had a COMPLETELY free and fair election. I guarantee you, at least the portion of the country I’m in, would still vote for anything with an ® next to their name.

    • lazynooblet
      link
      fedilink
      English
      233 months ago

      Trump supporters continue to vote red despite decisions effecting their lives in profound ways.

      Look at the anti-vax response after their own child dies of a preventable disease. It’s moronic.

    • Vash63
      link
      fedilink
      73 months ago

      That’s looking increasingly like a big “if”, unless you mean a Russian style election.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      93 months ago

      Just wait a bit more. The real pain has not yet set in. Wait until they have to decide whether to keep their mom alive or feed their children. It won’t take long.

  • Echo Dot
    link
    fedilink
    83 months ago

    On Friday there was a meeting at work where everyone insisted that they will not go to the US office anymore.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    64
    edit-2
    3 months ago

    Look, I’ve been to the states a good 7 or 8 times and I’m really very fond of the place and the people generally. That includes the, hands down, best summer of my life on a college visa.

    I will not be going back there until shit calms down. I just can’t gamble on the notion of spending weeks in a cold, overly bright shithole cell on the whim of anyone on the way through just for a holiday when I can spin over to any country in Europe and just get a smile and a “Welcome” from the border security on my way in.

    It just wouldn’t be a rational choice.

    edit: I just want to add in that the EU pumps an enormous amount of money on the Erasmus scheme. If you’re not in the know the idea is to get kids in college in one country to do a year of the course in another country in Europe. The only real goal of this is to make people realise that they’re just like everyone else in Europe so we never have an internal war again and it is (along with a few other bits) the best money the EU spends IMO.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      113 months ago

      I will not be going back there until shit calms down.

      Don’t expect it for a long time. You talk about the Erasmus to teach people they’re just like everyone else to prevent an internal war.

      Here in the states, I honest to god cannot see how our two sides can come to a peaceful resolution and that terrifies me.

      • Tiefling IRL
        link
        fedilink
        133 months ago

        There is no means to a peaceful resolution when one side actively dreams of genociding or enslaving half the other side

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          83 months ago

          Hell, they want to enslave a chunk of their own side. Shouldn’t be long until it’s illegal to be too poor.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            43 months ago

            I feel like there is a /s I missed. It’s already illegal to be poor here. Don’t have a house/apartment to sleep in? Crime.

            Can’t pay taxes? Crime.

            Wanna stay warm by burning a Tesla? Crime.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        43 months ago

        I know folks in Georgia, S. Carolina, and N. Carolina who’ve never been more than a couple hours drive from their birthplace in their entire lives.

  • Tiefling IRL
    link
    fedilink
    103 months ago

    A 9% reduction seems low. I’m curious to know emigration numbers (I’m getting out of here myself)

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      33 months ago

      Most of the trips that have happened in February and March were planned and often paid for before that time and couldn’t easily be changed or cancelled so many went ahead. There will be a continuing drop off. Airlines are reassigning their planes because so few Canadians are booking trips to the USA, even as a stopover to anther country. Some border businesses have already lost 50% or more of their business.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    303 months ago

    Just imagine a legal tourist in the US gets their wallet stolen.

    Once, when people in the US had rights, he would contact the police, who would help him getting in contact with the embassy.

    Where would the tourist end up nowadays? In Gitmo? Or a South American prison?

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      53 months ago

      Initially some American prison then deported to some random country based on what he appeared to be to the racist in command in charge of making this decision

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    463 months ago

    I really wanted to visit this year to for the first time, but instead I’m going to Canada and I’m really excited!

    • Em Adespoton
      link
      fedilink
      103 months ago

      Just a warning: both nations are huge, and depending on where you go you’ll have a very different experience.

      Generally in Canada, the colder the climate, the warmer the people, so you have to decide how much you value both.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        83 months ago

        Yes. Don’t come to the south-western part where it’s rainy but warm. Pleugh. Very expensive.

        Avoid the posh hotels in Ucluelet (land in tahsis nearby if you don’t like the drive) or the beaches in Tofino. Or the forests around port Renfrew (YCD airport to skip that drive). Bleugh. Terrible. Not a Starbucks in sight.

        Vancouver too. Yuck. (YCH/YVR). Pretty blue glass and excursions to pretty bridges and hills and trails. Focus on the san-fran style homeless issues and high cost of your trip.

        Definitely Do Not go see ucky Canada. But we’d love to have you and hope you have a great time.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    313 months ago

    Is this what Project 2025 wants to happen? I heard 42% of their goals have already been implemented. Do they think that isolationism and going back to unilateral, strong armed foreign policy will work? And I thought the Nazis were really stupid…oh wait…

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    113 months ago

    The thing that sucks is that the USA is awesome, it had great nature, great cities and good food / people.

    The orange dipshit can’t take that away.

    That said, only visit / give your money to blue states, that’s what I’m doing.

    • Echo Dot
      link
      fedilink
      6
      edit-2
      3 months ago

      The one thing that really came home to me traveling in the US was how unbelievably different different parts of it are. If you were an alien or otherwise didn’t know where the borders of countries were you would not believe that Florida and DC could possibly belong to the same country they’re so completely different in culture.

      I honestly think that’s part of the problem the US has, they only have two parties and that’s nowhere near enough diversity to cover all of the different kinds of cultures the US has. I have to imagine people in North Dakota have completely different priorities to people in California. Yet there’s absolutely no political recognition of that.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        53 months ago

        Not just political but cultural, most of the great planes states were borne as nations during the height of the Cold war (the dust bowl kinda stalled/reset a lot of progress) which seems to have fucked them up weirdly. A lot of Americans can’t seem to move past the fiction of a unified culture meaning they can’t actually work within the reality of cultural and national differences. The United States isn’t a nation it’s 50+ nations in a trenchcoat descended from a shit tonne of different cultures and nations.

      • Echo Dot
        link
        fedilink
        33 months ago

        Depends what you get them from though. The ones in Florida are just leathery

  • Realitätsverlust
    link
    fedilink
    English
    113 months ago

    Why even go visit the US? There’s nothing worthwhile to visit. And fatty american food I can get in almost any country

    • Pyr
      link
      fedilink
      103 months ago

      Come visit Canada instead (: pretty much the same, but you won’t be detained at the border.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    283 months ago

    Only 9% decrease? That sounds pretty optimistic.

    I’d guess it will be more like 50%. Guess we’ll see.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      63 months ago

      I mean, it’s only been 2 months. 9% drop vs 5% gain is a 14% shift from expected. That’s impressive, and Trump administration is just getting started.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      73 months ago

      People book vacations like that well in advance. So there’s a time delay between the bookings and drop. Yesterday I read an article about Dutch travel agencies seeing far less bookings for US holidays. In january they saw a 20 percent drop, but they didn’t have February figures yet.

      So by the end of this year, the tourism decrease will likely be much higher.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      63 months ago

      I was reading somewhere online someone’s observation at Dulles airport near DC, and they said the place was like a ghost town, and they asked a worker about it and they said it’s been like that for weeks.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        23 months ago

        There was also a recent high-profile crash around there and traffic is being re-routed while the cut-down FAA figures out the airspace.

    • Em Adespoton
      link
      fedilink
      53 months ago

      What I’m interested in is what this does to the international conference scene. I can’t imagine many of them will be hosted in the US this year, even if the event was already booked.