“The United States is a global magnet for travelers – which in turn powers millions of jobs and economic growth throughout our country,” said Senator Maggie Hassan, Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee. “However, President Trump’s reckless tariffs and other actions have led to a significant decline in travel and tourism, which has pummeled American small businesses and communities that depend on tourist spending. States across the country have been forced to shoulder job losses and watch their economies suffer ahead of peak travel season this summer.”

Key new calculations in the Committee report include: 

• International tourism to the U.S. dropped in 2025, which resulted in decreased visitor spending at American businesses compared to 2024.
  
• Last year, 9.9 million fewer Canadians visited the U.S. compared to 2024, which in particular harms businesses that benefit from Canadian tourists.
  
• America’s travel sector posted a nearly $14 billion trade deficit in 2025, the first deficit in that sector since data collection began in 1999. 
• The number of jobs in the hotel and lodging sector declined last year for the first time since the Great Recession, aside from a brief drop in 2020.  
• States in every region of the country experienced job losses in hotels and lodging.
  
• U.S. hotels had lower occupancy and earned less revenue per available room in 2025 than in 2024.
  
• Domestic airline passenger boardings declined by more than 10.7 million in 2025 compared to 2024. 
• Visitors to sites in the National Park System dropped by 15 million last year compared to 2024, costing nearby communities an estimated $1.3 billion in revenue. 

The report also includes state-specific data and local snapshots from around the country that detail the ways in which President Trump’s actions have strained tourism-exposed jobs and businesses.

Read the full report here.  

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