The number of Mexicans visiting the United States has fallen for the first time in four years, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), with the 668,840 Mexican tourists arriving in the U.S. by plane or boat between January and March representing a 7.2% decrease from the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.
There was a 19% decline in business visitors and a 5.1% fall in leisure tourists, according to the DOC.
The number of European visitors to the U.S. also decreased by around 7%. This coincides with media reports of some European visitors being detained and deported at U.S. borders.
In March alone, tourist arrivals to the U.S. from Mexico fell by 23%. During that same month, visitors to the U.S. from Germany fell by an estimated 28%; from Ireland, 26%; from Spain, 24%; from South Korea, 14.5%; from the United Kingdom, 14%; and from France, 8%.
U.S. President Trump’s hostility to foreign visitors has been widely blamed for the decrease in tourism.
In an April press conference, a reporter asked Trump why he thought fewer people were traveling to the U.S., referencing the “steep drop-off” in international travel to the country.
“It’s not a big deal,” Trump replied.
Gerardo Herrera, an academic at Mexico’s Iberoamericana University, explained, “There is a widespread belief that if you travel to the United States right now, you may encounter surprises, such as being denied entry or having your visa canceled.”
A shift in tourist destinations
The number of visitors from Canada to the U.S. fell by around 5% in Q1, compared to the same period last year.
Francisco Madrid, Anáhuac University Cancún’s director of the Sustainable Tourism Advanced Research Center (STARC), believes the animosity caused by the trade war is deterring people from visiting the U.S.
“Maybe Trump thinks it’s funny to say he can annex a country like Canada, but not for the Canadians,” Madrid said. “And part of this behavior is deciding not to go to that country.”
The tariffs are creating instability in the U.S. and making prices unpredictable, according to the travel marketing company Sojern.
“Additionally, we’re seeing some policies regarding visas and deportations affecting the market, particularly in cross-border markets like Canada and Mexico,” Sojern’s Nick Beaulieu said.
Meanwhile, interest in travel to Mexico has risen, as it has all year, with international flight bookings from Canada to Mexico increasing by 6% in Q1, compared to the same period last year.
Canadian tourist arrivals had previously risen by 14.5% between 2018 and 2023, according to Mexico’s Tourism Ministry.
Mexico typically sees higher visitor traffic from Canada during Canada’s cold winter months, but whether the trend of increased Canadian visitation continues into the summer remains to be seen.
There could be between a 5% and 8% increase in tourism from Canada to the Mexican Caribbean, according to Rodrigo de la Peña Segura, president of the Cancún, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres Hotel Association.
“The Canadian market is really going to rebound significantly for us,” he said.
A similar trend is expected from European visitors, according to Peña Segura.
With reports from El Sol de México, El Imparcial, El Heraldo de México Quintana Roo, Associated Press, MSNBC and BBC
FYI. Not all Americans want to vacation on the United States. Vive Canada. Viva Mexico. We will come to you.
Trump isn’t hostile to tourists. He is hostile to illegals. You all look stupid with your constant Trump Derangement Syndrome. Get over it and start being serious journalists instead of knee jerk leftist shills. It is tiresome.
lol Daniel. You constant worship of the Cheeto felon is entertaining to say the least. If you diversify your news sources you will see many other reports of his administration harassing legal visitors and those with legal status to be in US. I will pray for your recovery.
Trump Derangement Syndrome is another one of the right wing’s ironies because it actually describes the irrational and worshipful state of Trump-istas, like Liberation Day, when the felon president threw the world economy into disarray. Liberation for the forces of chaos, hate, and police-state power. But it’s charming when the unknowing use it to attack those who don’t raise their arms in the Trump/Musk salute.
Reports of international travelers avoiding travel to or even through the US grows daily. No traveler wants to be stopped or harassed while traveling. There are just too many options available to people.
The new isolationist approach the US is taking is shrinking the economy on every move. The world is learning how to move on without the US.
When you insult your neighbors they learn to ignore you.
Canada elected Mark Carney who has a PhD in Economics from Oxford University. Mexico elected Claudia Sheinbaum a woman with a PhD in Energy Engineering form UNAM. The USA elected Donald Trump, twice impeached, 34 felony convictions, a prior history of failed business ventures including four bankrupt casinos. But here we are now.