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New York City is expecting 2 million fewer international tourists this year amid concerns over President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration and trade tariff policies, according to a new report.
City officials revised their December forecast, which estimated 14.6 million foreign tourists would visit in 2025, down to 12.1 million, according to a report released by New York City Tourism and Conventions, the city’s tourism agency.
Including both domestic and foreign visitors, the city expects to see 3.5 million fewer in total compared to the 67.7 million it previously predicted.
“We are in uncertain times and there are more questions than answers,” Julie Coker, the agency’s CEO said, emphasizing that “New York City is still the most welcoming, inclusive and diverse city in the world.”
The drop in estimated foreign visitors is partly down to the Trump administration’s “high-profile detainments” of immigrants, according to Adam Sacks, president of consulting firm Tourism Economics.
Stories of nightmare encounters at the U.S. border, some of which resulted in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, have spooked travelers.
Sacks also said that Trump’s tariffs were deterring tourists from the U.S., according to Bloomberg.
Foreign tourists are vital for the city as they typically spend more money than domestic visitors. In 2024, international tourists spent $23 billion, according to the city’s Comptroller Brad Lander.
Canadians have the highest number of tourists coming to the U.S., with 24 million visiting last year, followed by Mexico at 17 million and the United Kingdom at 4 million.
In a recent report by research firm Tourism Economics, inbound travel to the U.S. is now projected to decline by 5.5 percent this year, instead of growing by nearly 9 percent as had previously been forecast.
A further escalation in tariffs and trade wars could result in further reductions in international tourism, which could amount to an $18 billion annual reduction in tourist spending in 2025.
Trump was quizzed about how his policies were impacting international tourism figures at the end of last month, when he downplayed the situation.
“There is a little nationalism there, I guess, perhaps,” he said in the Oval Office. “It’s not a big deal.”
