Travel Agencies NAICS 561510

Jul 8, 2025 - Foreign Travel to US Plummets

• Foreign travel to the US has fallen 10% since Donald Trump took office, according to NBC News, as his trade and immigration policies are keeping international visitors away. The drop in international tourism alone will cost the US about $8.5 billion in spending, per a study by Oxford Economics. Arrivals to the US are expected to fall 9% in 2025. Flight bookings to the US between May and July - peak travel season - is already down 11% year over year as of April. Canada and Europe in particular are shunning US travel with flight bookings down 33% and 10%, respectively. The US Travel Association (USTA) estimates that a 1% drop in international foreign travel spending translates into $1.8 billion in lost revenue to the US economy. If current trends continue, the USTA estimates the US will lose $21 billion in travel-related revenue in 2025.
• Less than half of Americans have summer travel plans this year, according to a survey by consumer finance firm Bankrate. Only 46% of those surveyed will be traveling this summer, down from 53% last year, with two thirds citing cost as the reason for staying home, but not in the way most would think. Among those who did not plan to travel, 68% said the cost of everyday life was the primary reason, rather than the expense of the trip itself. Tariffs and the worry of a recession also kept more consumers in a holding pattern on summer trips. Other factors for staying home cited in the survey included the hassle of traveling (16%, up from 11% last year) and an inability to take time off of work (also 16%, a 6 point increase). A reluctance to leave work could be a sign of expectant layoffs from a weak economy.

• Sinking Canadian public opinion of the US and a lengthy trade war could cost the American travel industry an estimated $4 billion, according to a Forbes analysis of US Travel Association (USTA) data. Statistics Canada reported that Canadians visiting the US by car - the majority method - dropped a hefty 23% in February 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Air travel from Canada to the US was also down 2.4%. Canadian travel agency giant Flight Centre reports a 40% drop in bookings to the US over the last three months (year over year), and a 20% cancellation rate on pre-booked trips. The USTA in February already warned that a 10% dip in travel from Canada could cost the US $2.1 billion in consumer spending and 140,000 hospitality jobs. With that rate already more than double the USTA estimate, losses could balloon to a potential $4 billion.
• Average wages for non-supervisory travel agency employees grew significantly throughout 2024, per the most recent US Bureau Labor Statistics data. By October, wages in the industry had increased by 13% year-over-year. The boost in wages can be traced to a glut of well-paid hiring when the travel industry rebounded from Covid, and a Department of Labor mid-year regulation change that lowered industry employees’ income threshold for overtime eligibility. The overtime rule was short-lived when an appeals court overturned it in late 2024. The new Trump administration will likely not defend the change any further.