1. United States
2. S.C.
3. Letter

In current news on our economy, it turns out threatening to annex Canada, detaining European tourists, and starting a war in Iran is not great for the tourism industry. Who could have seen this coming? The U.S. saw 4 million fewer international visitors in 2025 — the steepest tourism decline in 20 years outside of COVID. Foreign visitor spending dropped by more than $8 billion. Canada, historically our biggest source of tourists, pulled back by as much as 42% in some cities. While global tourism hit record highs, the United States finished last among 184 countries for international visitor spending growth. The rest of the world is traveling more than ever. They're just not coming here. The reasons aren't hard to find. Trump's immigration crackdowns, tariff wars, nationalist rhetoric, and a literal war have reshaped how the world sees America. ICE agents at airports. A German tourist held in solitary confinement for six weeks. Repeated threats to ‘annex’ random countries. Tourism drives hundreds of billions of dollars and millions of jobs. And it's going to get worse before it gets better — the National Travel and Tourism Office projects the U.S. won't recover to pre-pandemic visitor levels until 2029. Las Vegas is hurting. New York is hurting. Florida is hurting. The service workers and hotel staff and restaurant employees who depend on foreign tourists are hurting. Trump's policies are hurting our economy!