Europeans seem to be boycotting America since Donald Trump became president with tourism to the US having plummeted in recent months.
New figures from the International Trade Administration showed the number of visitors to the US from western Europe who stayed at least one night had fallen by 17% in March, compared to a year ago.
For some European nations, such as Ireland, Norway and Germany, travel to the US had fallen by more than 20%, the Financial Times reports.
In total, the number of overseas visitors to America had dropped by 12% year-on-year in March, the biggest decline since March 2021 when pandemic travel restrictions were still in place.
The figures present a real risk to the American tourism industry, which accounts for 2.5% of the country’s GDP, with airlines and hotel groups warning there is a “bad buzz” about visiting the US under Trump’s presidency.
Since the Republican was inaugurated, there has been growing economic and political tension between the US and its western allies. This has been caused by issues such as Trump’s ‘liberation day’ tariffs and his lack of support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
But since his presidency started, there have also been a number of concerning stories of tourists and travellers into America being detained at airports.
This includes Welsh tourist Becky Burke, who was detained in a US immigration centre in Washington State for 19 days after a “visa mix-up” caused her to be denied entry into Canada.
There have also been allegations of immigration officials targeting individuals entering the US because of their political opinions and activities.
Reacting to the news of the declining tourism numbers earlier this week, Trump blamed ‘nationalism’ and claimed the US was the “tourism capital of the world.”
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