US tourism problems: “If Disney World is offering 50 percent discounts for kids this summer, that means something”
The United States has seen a major drop in tourists from overseas since President Donald Trump returned to the White House: “The streets are empty.”
Rising tensions, governments issuing travel advisories, tighter US border controls and stories of tourists being detained and then deported have all played a part in helping drive down the number of overseas tourists coming to the United States in recent months. According to data from the International Trade Administration the number of foreign visitors to the US was down 12 percent this March compared to last year reported The Washington Post.
The situation has led to instead of a time of year when “everything should be fully booked,” to one where “the streets are empty,” related one entrepreneur who runs a holiday home rental company in Florida. Speaking to Focus Online, Marco Wischmeier told the outlet: “We used to get an extremely high number of bookings from Germany, now there are only a few. Hardly anyone is booking in advance anymore.”
Overseas tourist slump prompts discounts
Wischmeier, a native of Augsburg, Germany, who along with his job as a real estate agent has been renting holiday homes in Florida for 17 years, has seen business drop off to such an extent that he is now offering discounts.
The dollar is weakening but Europeans don’t take advantage of it as they no longer travel to the US pic.twitter.com/DrM9ugKLZL
— Alberto Alemanno (@alemannoEU) April 21, 2025
He’s already lowered the price on his 40 vacation homes by 20 percent but says further price cuts may be inevitable given the travel warnings issued by countries like Germany, Canada, Denmark, France and the UK, among others.
“When even Disney World is offering 50 percent off for kids this summer, that really says something,” he highlighted. “Right now, the only way to attract guests is with discounts and bargain prices.”
He has also heard from German clients who own properties he manages in the Sunshine State that they want to sell. A sentiment being expressed by Canadian ‘snowbirds’ too. They make up the largest number of foreign buyers of US properties, 13 percent of all home purchases, reports CNN.
Wischmeier says that while he understands why oversea tourists are staying away that “the US is more than just its government.” And that regardless of who the president is “Florida’s beaches, the sunsets, dolphins, the Everglades – that’s all still beautiful.”
He’s hoping that the falling dollar will lure his fellow countrymen back and made a heartfelt plea to them: “Please come back to us in Florida. We miss you and we need you.”
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