Foreign tourist numbers to the US are plunging and travel chief says Trump can do 6 things to reverse the decline
US international visitor numbers fell further over the summer — despite the World Cup boost — and a told travel boss says President Trump should make America’s messaging clearer and more positive to foreign tourists.Tourism from abroad fell 2% year-on-year in June, 7% in July and 11% in August, according to figures from Geoff Freeman, CEO of the US Travel Association.Those figures came as a shock, following the “PR victory” of the FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico this summer.Speaking to The Post, Freeman said high US travel costs, tariffs and trade disputes, and false rumors about the US among foreign travelers all contributed international tourism to the US declining dramatically.The number of visitors dropped 11 million in 2025 and is on track to drop another 2 million this year — down 20% from the pre-pandemic high, according to US Travel Association data.“Some of this is attributed to the cost of travel to the United States.Some of it is attributed to the difficulty of travel for Asian visitors who can’t fly over Russian airspace,” he said.“Some of it is individuals who are upset about various trade issues and have decided that they’re going to boycott the United States,” he added.More concerning for Freeman are the visitors staying away due to “inaccurate information they will be detained,” he said.“They believe that they’re not welcome in the United States, they believe things that are often untrue, and that’s where we need the government to partner with the private sector and send a clear message to travelers around the world that the US is open for business,” Freeman added.Freeman met with President Trump several weeks ago at the Oval Office, and said they agreed on multiple solutions to improve those figures, with the ambitious target of making the US the most-visited nation in the world with 100 million tourists.He called Trump’s post about the importance of international travel and making ...