U.S. International Travel Sector Facing $ 12.5 BN Loss
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed that the U.S. could lose up to $12.5 billion in international travel spending in 2025, marking a significant 22.5% decline from its previous peak. This directly blows the country’s economy, impacting various sectors, communities and jobs nationwide.
New Estimates on Travel Spending
WTTC’s latest Economic Impact Research anticipates that international visitor spending in the U.S. might decrease to around $169 billion this year, down from $181 billion in 2024. This reduction, unique among 184 economies studied by WTTC and Oxford Economics, positions the U.S. as the only country forecasted to experience a decline in international visitor spending in 2025.
International Market Neglect
In 2024, domestic travel constituted nearly 90% of all tourism spending in the U.S., with Americans choosing to holiday domestically in record numbers. However, this overreliance on domestic travel conceals a significant vulnerability. The real growth lies in the international market, and the U.S. seems to be losing its position in this sector. Recent data from the U.S. Department of Commerce for March 2025 shows a sharp decrease in inbound travel from many of the country’s key source markets.
Declining Inbound Travel
Inbound travel from critical source markets such as the U.K., Germany, South Korea, Spain, Colombia, Ireland, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic has significantly fallen from 15% to 33%. Moreover, bookings from the Canadian market, a traditionally strong source of visitors, are down 20% compared to the previous year.
Cost of Inaction
The Travel & Tourism sector contributed $2.6 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2024, supporting more than 20 million jobs and generating around $585 billion in tax revenue, accounting for nearly 7% of all government income. However, the U.S. is losing its global appeal as a top destination for travel, trade, culture, and business, resulting in a deficit in visitors from other countries.
WTTC’s Call to Action
WTTC urges immediate action to restore international traveler confidence, rebuild international marketing efforts and address travel access issues. Without these measures, it could take several years for the U.S. to return to pre-pandemic levels of international visitor spending, and even longer to regain the peak figures from a decade ago.
