US losing tourist market share
The World Travel & Tourism Council warns the U.S. is falling behind other regions even as global travel surges, with tourists choosing other destinations. (eu.usatoday.com) Independent reporting notes declines from Canada while China is increasing its share of global tourism. (independent.co.uk)
The United States is still the world’s biggest travel market, but it lost international visitor share in 2025 while global tourism grew. (wttc.org) The World Travel & Tourism Council said 80 million more people traveled internationally in 2025 than in 2024, yet U.S. visitor numbers fell 5.5% and foreign visitor spending dropped 4.6% to $176 billion. (wttc.org) The same report said global travel and tourism added $11.6 trillion to world gross domestic product in 2025, up 4.1%, while North America was the slowest-growing region at 1.0% and the U.S. grew 0.9%. (wttc.org) The warning lands as the U.S. travel industry is counting on the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics to lift inbound travel after a weaker 2025. The U.S. Travel Association said its October 1, 2025 forecast expected international inbound travel to fall in 2025 before returning to growth in 2026. (ustravel.org) Canada is the biggest pressure point. The U.S. Travel Association said Canada sent 20.4 million visitors to the United States in 2024, and a 10% drop would mean 2 million fewer visits and $2.1 billion less spending. (ustravel.org) By March 2025, U.S. Travel said international visits to the United States were down about 14% from a year earlier, including a 26% drop in overnight land trips from Canada. (ustravel.org) USA Today reported on March 19, 2026 that the United States saw about 4.2 million fewer arrivals from Canada in 2025 than in 2024, citing Commerce Department data. (usatoday.com) China is moving in the other direction. The Independent reported in March 2026 that China increased its share of global tourism while the U.S. was the only tourist area to post a decline in 2025. (independent.co.uk) Industry groups have tied the U.S. slowdown to tougher border perceptions, weaker demand from Canada and Mexico, and stronger competition from other destinations reopening and marketing aggressively. WTTC said the U.S. remains the largest travel economy, but it called the current path a crossroads. (wttc.org)
