'Don’t feel welcome': New estimate shows drastic tourism effect of Trump 2.0
The American tourism industry is being brought to its knees by President Donald Trump.
According to NBC News, foreign travel to the United States has fallen by 10 percent since Trump took office, and it's already having measurable effects on the U.S. economy.
"Oxford Economics estimates spending among international visitors to the U.S. will fall $8.5 billion this year, as negative perceptions of the U.S. tied to trade and immigration policy lead travelers to other destinations."
All of this was forecast in a grim report earlier this year, which showed Trump's tariffs alone could cause $90 billion in losses from international tourism boycotts of the United States.
But one area that's being hit especially hard, the report noted, is LGBTQ tourism.
"Bookings for queer-friendly housing accommodations in the U.S. on the LGBTQ+ travel platform misterb&b saw a 66% decline among Canadian users and a 32% decline among European users from February to April, compared with the same period last year."
Blue-state reservations on the platform increased 22 percent, and red-state reservations declined 9 percent, including in liberal-leaning cities within red states like Salt Lake City and Austin. Moreover, reservations worldwide were up, which indicated international travelers were not canceling their vacations outright but simply avoiding the United States.
“They don’t feel welcome here, so why come and spend their money here?” said John Tanzella of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association, who said many overseas members are hesitant to come to the group's global convention in Palm Springs.
Despite all of this, the report noted, Pride organizations are pressing on with events in the United States and still seeing relatively strong attendance, as people refuse to allow Trump's crackdown on inclusivity programs to chill their message.
"Ryan Bos, executive director for the Capital Pride Alliance, which ran WorldPride this year, said organizers were 'pleasantly surprised' that people still showed up amid concerns about the Trump administration’s policies," said the report. He added that there were calls to cancel, but “If we were to retreat, what message would that have sent to all the other Prides who are also experiencing similar challenges?”