US Tourist Decline Blamed on 'Trump Slump'

The decline in the number of foreign tourists visiting the US has been dubbed “Trump Slump,” citing the January 2017 ban imposed by the administration of US President Donal Trump against travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

But the number actually began decreasing back in 2016 while a record was set in 2015 when the United States welcomed 77.5 million foreign visitors, Travelandleisure.com reported.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization announced last week that Spain overtook the United States as the second-most visited destination (France remains number one) in 2017. The US welcomed 72.9 million foreign visitors last year, down by about 4% from the previous year’s 75.9 million.

Chris Thompson, the president and CEO of Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, believes there are other, more complicated contributions to the decline in tourism.  “The United States continues to be an aspirational destination. What happens in Washington has an effect but so do many more things,” he said.

Thompson cited the strong American dollar and increased competition as the major causes of the drop.

When it becomes more expensive to visit a country, fewer tourists arrive. The strength of the US dollar has been growing since 2011, with spectacular growth in 2014. A strong dollar means less tourists—particularly from Canada—are enticed to visit. And, as airlines continue to open new markets and routes, other, lesser-visited destinations enter the market and create competition.

Since 2015, the US has lost 4 million visitors, which adds up to a loss of $32.2 billion in additional spending and 100,000 new jobs. The Pew Research Center found that unfavorable views of the US in 37 countries increased 13% in the six months that Trump was in office.  In response to a New York Times post, Europeans “overwhelmingly cited the Trump administration and its policies as reasons for avoiding or canceling trips to the United States,” according to the paper. While the Trump presidency may not have single-handedly caused the tourism slump, its effect cannot be discounted.