Travel experts agree: These are the reasons why fewer tourists are visiting the U.S.

The FIFA 2026 World Cup tournament officially kicks off on Thursday, June 11, in Mexico City, Mexico. But there will also be opening ceremonies the following day in Toronto, Canada and Los Angeles, U.S.A., the other two host nations. In all there are 16 host cities across the three countries, and each of them are looking to cash in on a surge of visitors to watch the ‘beautiful game’ taking place at venues over the next six weeks.

President Gianni Infantino and FIFA hyped “a big wave of joy and happiness” with the arrival of the 2026 World Cup that would bring millions of visitors along with billions of dollars. However, in the weeks leading up to the tournament, those in the U.S. tourism industry, which had been hoping for a rebound from a dismal 2025, were tempering their outlook.

Part of the reason is that some of the same factors that saw the number of foreign visitors plummet last year, the first time since the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 even while global travel increased at the same time, are still in place. Others have arisen since the beginning of the year.

The reasons why fewer tourists are visiting the U.S.

While the United States is facing ever more competition in attracting international travelers from fast rising markets in Asia, in particular China, much of the dramatic decrease in overseas visitors is homegrown. Specifically, travelers citied policies by the Trump administration making it harder for tourists to enter the U.S. along with his belligerent rhetoric toward other nations and threats to invade neighboring countries.

In particular, his threats to “destroy” the Canadian economy and make the nation the 51^st state in The Union made our neighbors to the north reconsider their travel plans to the U.S. While the number of international visitors in 2025 dropped by 4 million representing a decrease of 5.5%, the U.S. saw 21% fewer people cross the border from Canada, the biggest source of foreign tourism.

The world also watched in horror as images of protestors being shot and the violence of anti-immigration agents during raids or just on residential streets. Confusion about visas and worries about the possibility of being deported upon arrival for content on their social media feeds also gave foreign travelers pause.

More recently, rising airline ticket prices due to higher jet fuel prices in the wake of the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran have put a damper on many people’s summer travel plans.

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