Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, and Portugal have issued 'travel warnings' for their citizens regarding the United States. This measure comes in response to the detention of their citizens in the U.S. due to President Donald Trump's border policy enforcement. As a result of this intensified border policy by the Trump administration, a trend has emerged calling for a complete boycott of travel to the United States, which could also impact the American tourism industry.
The country with the strongest opinion against traveling to the U.S. is Canada. Each year, more than 20 million Canadians visit the United States, but after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canada and suggested making it the 51st state, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged citizens to 'change their summer vacation plans and stay in Canada,' leading to a decrease in visitors to the U.S. According to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadians traveling to the U.S. dropped by more than 20% last February.
This reflects the growing perception that the U.S. is no longer a safe country. The cancellation of visas for Canadian women with valid passports, along with incidents of detention for two weeks in the U.S., has fueled fears regarding travel to America. Consequently, Canadians are changing their travel destinations to Mexico, South America, and Europe.
The boycott of travel to the U.S. is expected to also impact the American economy. The U.S. Travel Association believes that even a 10% drop in Canadian visitors could lead to a revenue decrease of $2.1 billion (approximately 3.87 trillion won) and a loss of 14,000 jobs. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the U.S. earned $2.36 trillion (approximately 3,469.2 trillion won) from international tourists last year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that over 800,000 jobs were created in the leisure and hospitality sector last year. However, Tourism Economics has reversed its initial projection of an 8.8% growth in travel to the U.S. from last year, now predicting a 5.1% decrease this year, attributing this to 'tension regarding the U.S., high tariffs, and changes in exchange rates making travel to the U.S. more expensive.'
The reduction in tourism revenue due to the boycott of travel to the U.S. is expected to negatively affect American workers and small corporations. Over 99% of the U.S. travel and events industry consists of small corporations. Thomas F. Goodwin, president of the Exhibitions & Conferences Alliance, told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), "If international business travelers give up visiting the U.S., politicians or the government may not suffer, but everyone involved—booth builders, service contractors, catering companies, and technicians—will be affected." He added, "Hotels, taxis, and restaurants will inevitably feel the ripple effect."
There are also estimates that the U.S. will lose its soft power influence due to the travel boycott. Neri Kara Silaman, an entrepreneurship expert at the University of Oxford, noted, "Soft power is the influence obtained through openness, cultural leadership, and global goodwill. If scholars, scientists, artists, designers, and corporations start choosing other countries over the U.S., the U.S. will not only lose visitors but also much more, ultimately transforming into a closed society that hinders growth and innovation in the long term."