Welcome to Trump’s America, The i Paper’s World Insight series presenting the sharpest, deepest thinking on an era-defining shift in history and politics, investigating how Donald Trump and his administration have changed the US and the world – and where we go from here.
• We’ve reached ‘peak America’ – just don’t tell Donald Trump
• Brash America is facing its worst nightmare: loneliness
• America’s interstellar ambitions are now at the mercy of Elon Musk’s ego
It’s official. Despite Donald Trump declaring America to be the “hottest country” in the world, international tourists disagree. As global travel continues to rebound after the pandemic years, the US is the outlier.
America is on track to receive two million fewer overseas visitors than in 2025 (which saw a drop of four million from the year before). Not even hosting the Fifa World Cup could boost the numbers. The lure of the Grand Canyon, Route 66, Las Vegas, the Empire State Building and the rest of America’s famous charms have been overshadowed by Trump’s trade wars, tariffs, jabs at allies and aggressive immigration enforcement. Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the US Travel Association, described the situation as “mind-boggling”, telling , “we’re the only country in the world losing visitation”.
As if the reason for the decline in international tourism wasn’t blindingly obvious, look no further than who’s not coming to America. Canadians are voting with their feet. In 2025, visits by Canadians to the US fell by about 25 per cent, and this year is on track to show similar declines. Apparently, Canadians don’t like Trump saying their country should become the 51st US state, they don’t appreciate having tariffs slapped on them because they’re “ripping America off”, and they’re taking their (admittedly weak) currency elsewhere.
The Statistics Canada agency announced that early 2026 travel patterns signalled “a persistent shift away from the United States by Canadian residents in their travel preferences”. Florida, for example, is no longer exerting the pull it once did on Canadians looking for warmth and carefree vibes. During the first six months of 2026, about 1.68 million Canadians travelled to the Sunshine State, down 13.9 per cent compared to the first half of 2025. Canadian tourism in Florida remains below pre-pandemic levels.
Visitors from Germany and France, traditional allies of the US, are also staying away – down 16 per cent and 15 per cent so far this year. Trump has claimed that Germany owes “vast sums of money” to the US, and described various of French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks as “brain dead, very nasty”. Early in Trump’s second term, Vice President JD Vance flew to Germany and told the Munich Security Conference that America’s European allies were destroying themselves with immigration and unfairly barring the far right from power. The fiery rhetoric has not gone unnoticed by European tourists, who after all have a choice about where to spend their vacations.
As for Britons – well, it does seem as though the special relationship initially defied the “Trump Slump” affecting other traditional US allies. The pull of America was alive and well in 2025, when the number of UK tourists flying to the US was basically flat, at just over four million. In the first five months of 2026, though, as headlines about the deadly shootings of people protesting against aggressive immigration enforcement operations sped around the world, there was a 2.2 per cent decline in visitors from the UK to the US. In New York City, where Britons traditionally love to come and shop and take in a Broadway show and a Statue of Liberty harbour tour, the number of UK tourists declined nearly 16 per cent in the first six months of 2026, compared to last year. That’s a lot of “I heart NY” T-shirts, mugs and key rings going spare.
Forecasts that the World Cup would draw 1.2 million international visitors seem to have fallen short of the mark. Tourism Economics predicted a 3.7 per cent growth in international visits to the US in 2026, aided by the tournament. Instead, here we are in October, on course to have 20 per cent fewer international tourists than in 2019, the peak year for America as a destination. The World Cup’s failure to boost overall tourism numbers was perhaps down to alarming headlines about fans having their social media accounts examined by US customs and immigration officers for anti-American content, or fears of masked ICE agents roaming through stadiums.
All of this is depressing news for Americans in the tourism trade. Whether it’s the fisherman in Florida who take Canadians out in their boats, hoping to catch tarpon, or ranchers in Montana showing Britons the best of Big Sky country, fewer international visitors mean less money. California officials saw the writing on the wall, launching the “California loves Canada” campaign last year, offering special discounts for Canadian tourists.
This year is the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence from Britain – which, under normal circumstances, should have been a big draw for foreign tourists. I visited Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution in June, immersing myself in the history of the Founding Fathers, in the city known as the birthplace of the United States. But I am a naturalised American.
In 2025, Philadelphia saw a 14 per cent drop in overseas visitors – again, the biggest decline came from Canadians. The City of Brotherly Love was not the draw it normally is, and Canada sent 125,000 fewer visitors than usual, a drop of nearly 25 per cent. Figures for this year are not yet available, but it’s hard to imagine Philadelphia will buck the trend. Maybe the ideal of America and the promise of the new nation created in 1776 will continue to inspire, and Philly will see a bump from international tourism. Or perhaps the Canadians are taking advantage of visa-free entry to China, enjoying the Great Wall and the Forbidden City instead.
Maga devotees may not care if international tourists dislike the glowering, dominant America First rhetoric of Trump’s second term and choose to spend their travel dollars elsewhere. But most Americans are proud of their country and want people to visit so they can show it off. Let’s see what 2027 brings. If Democrats win the House of Representatives, will that make the slightest bit of difference to the amount of international tourism America attracts? Or will it be 2029, after Trump leaves office, before those I heart NY mugs start selling out again?