How U.S. policy has impacted international travel?
With a significant decline in tourism to the U.S. due to security concerns, some travelers are now reconsidering whether it is safe to visit destinations recently threatened by Donald Trump.
2026 was supposed to be a bright year for tourism to the United States. Not only does the U.S. celebrate the 100th anniversary of the iconic Route 66 and the 250th anniversary of its independence, but it is also one of the hosts of the World Cup.
In a normal year, each of these events could bring smiles of satisfaction to hotel owners and American airline executives, but the events of the past twelve months have been anything but normal.
Since Donald Trump regained the presidency in January 2025, his administration has imposed tariffs on allied countries, repeatedly threatened to annex Canada, detained foreign tourists at the border, conducted widespread deportations, and may soon implement a program to review the social media profiles of foreign tourists before their arrival.
As a result, an increasing number of countries have warned against travel to the U.S., and many potential tourists have called for a complete boycott of travel to the country. Some have even described the U.S. as "an adversarial country."
According to a report from the World Travel and Tourism Council, the U.S. is expected to face a significant decline of $12.5 billion in international tourist spending in 2025.
Among the 184 countries examined by the World Travel and Tourism Council and Oxford Economics, the U.S. is the only country projected to face a decrease in spending by international tourists.
Sarah Kupit writes on a tourism industry website called "Skift": "Travel to the U.S., which was once a dream for many, is now simultaneously a political act, accepting the risk of entering without guarantees, and a financial burden." This website also reported that 46% of travelers participating in a survey last year said their likelihood of traveling to the U.S. has decreased due to Trump.
However, this relates to last year.
In the early days of 2026, the U.S. government conducted airstrikes in Caracas, arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and announced its intention to "manage" Venezuela. The country has claimed ownership of Greenland and has threatened Cuba, Iran, Colombia, and Mexico as well. Now it seems that Mr. Trump's actions are not only affecting tourists' decisions to travel to the U.S. but also their decisions to travel to other destinations.
Heather Storgaard, a resident of Denmark, intended to travel to Greenland in February to visit friends. However, Mr. Trump's harsh tone regarding the purchase or military seizure of the resource-rich island has made her hesitant. Storgaard said: "I am still thinking about going and still considering, but cautiously."
Jackie Aruda, a hospitality marketer residing in Brazil, also planned to visit a friend in Greenland in May, but is now carefully monitoring the situation to see if she will have to cancel her trip.
She said: "What these recent events [in Venezuela] have shown me is that such threats can quickly become real plans. If something happens in the coming months, I will cancel this trip, but my main concern is the safety of my friend, the people of Greenland as a nation, their future, and the impacts and consequences this invasion could have worldwide."
Meanwhile, Jesus Nogra, the owner of a tourism company based in Havana, points out that Mr. Trump's statements about Venezuela being "ready to fall" after Maduro's arrest have immediately had a negative impact on tourism.
Mr. Nogra referred to several examples of revised plans and worrying emails from potential tourists, stating: "This rhetoric has created real and immediate concerns for potential travelers." He added: "I am worried about the future of this sector. Honestly, I see no clear signs of improvement in the near future. Tourism does not thrive in unstable, uncertain conditions filled with perceptions of potential dangers."
According to Laura Randall-Dan, a spokesperson for a specialized Latin American tourism company, U.S. actions in Venezuela have not yet affected her company's bookings for travel to Colombia (after Trump warned Colombian President Gustavo Petro to "watch himself") or to Mexico (where Trump proposed sending U.S. troops to combat drug cartels).
While it may be difficult for individual travelers to gauge the severity of Mr. Trump's threats, for British travel agencies and tourism companies, decision-making is straightforward.
Sean Tipton, a spokesperson for the "British Travel Agency Association," said: "There is a clear line. As soon as the British Foreign Office issues a travel warning, companies do not send anyone. This is about the responsibility of caring for customers. When you travel against the advice of the Foreign Office, standard travel insurance does not cover you."
While agencies and British tourism companies do not offer travel to destinations deemed very dangerous by their government, travelers can still travel to these countries independently. However, their travel insurance may not be valid.
Among the countries recently threatened by Mr. Trump, the British Foreign Office, at the time of writing this report, has warned against travel to Venezuela and Iran and advised its citizens not to travel to these two countries. The Foreign Office also warns against non-essential travel to certain areas of Colombia and Mexico. Currently, there is no travel advisory against Greenland issued by the British Foreign Office. Meanwhile, U.S. travel warnings range from "normal caution" to "do not travel" for certain areas of Mexico, "increased caution" in Cuba and Greenland, "reconsider travel" to Colombia, and "do not travel" to Iran.
Local tourism organizations are exploring ways to leverage the unexpected attention that Mr. Trump's recent threats have created.
Inga Ross Antoniusdottir, an executive in the tourism sector with extensive experience in Arctic and Nordic regions, said: "Whether this kind of media attention is bad or good depends on what the tourism industry does with it."
Antonio Sedotir says that for emerging destinations like Greenland, increased media attention can raise global awareness about the island and provide a platform to showcase its unique culture, nature, and history.
In Iran, the CEO of a tourism company based in Tehran says that Mr. Trump's recent remarks about interfering in protests in Iran are not the main reason for the decline in travel demand to the country from Western tourists. He believes that long-standing negative perceptions of Americans toward Iran, coupled with changes in the country's policies, have led tourism companies and individuals to refrain from promoting and traveling to Iran.
He said: "Based on our experience, the decline in demand for travel to Iran has been steadily ongoing since the U.S. withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 and is not a short-term reaction to recent political rhetoric."
In the tourism industry, everything depends on public perception. Less than two years after the U.S. was chosen by the World Economic Forum as the world's top tourism destination, the country is now witnessing what happens when tourists feel that the risks of travel outweigh the benefits. While it may still be too early to judge whether potential tourists feel similarly about other countries targeted by Trump, if the first weeks of January have proven anything, it is that situations can change rapidly.