International visitor arrivals to the United States have declined sharply in 2026 despite efforts by the Trump administration to boost tourism, according to recent data from the National Travel and Tourism Office. The number of overseas visitors—defined as all non-citizens arriving from countries other than Mexico and Canada—fell 5.7 percent year-on-year during the first nine months of 2026. This follows a 2.5 percent drop in 2025, marking the first consecutive declines since the pandemic in 2020.

Europe, the largest source market for overseas tourists, saw some of the steepest decreases, with visitor numbers down 8.7 percent in 2026. The World Travel & Tourism Council estimated that the United States lost approximately $8.4 billion in international visitor spending last year compared to 2024, underscoring the economic impact of reduced inbound travel.

Adam Sacks, president of the consultancy Tourism Economics, noted the retreat was particularly stark given the recent global attention surrounding the World Cup held in the summer. “We’re leaving an immense amount of business on the table,” he said, adding that overall market conditions have worsened since the tournament.

In response to the ongoing decline, President Donald Trump has sought to reassure the tourism sector. After initially dismissing the drop in visitor numbers as “not a big deal” last year, Trump convened a meeting last month with executives from major travel and hospitality firms, including Hilton, Marriott, and American Airlines, to discuss strategies aimed at increasing international arrivals. The administration has set an ambitious target of welcoming 100 million foreign visitors annually by 2030—an increase of more than 45 percent from the 68.3 million visitors recorded in 2025 and significantly higher than the 2018 peak of 79.7 million.

Leading the government’s travel promotion efforts is Nick Adams, an Australian-born conservative influencer appointed earlier this year as a diplomatic envoy for U.S. tourism. Adams has argued that calls to boycott the United States are harming small businesses and has worked to counter perceptions of American inhospitality. He cited the influx of visitors during the World Cup as a positive example that could dispel concerns over increased border scrutiny or invasions of privacy, such as fears of phone confiscation or social media monitoring.

However, travelers have reported greater scrutiny at U.S. ports of entry, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection data showing a 33 percent increase in electronic device searches in the first half of 2026 compared to the previous year. This has contributed to concerns among potential visitors.

Industry voices have attributed the downturn to diverging causes. Geoff Freeman, president of the U.S. Travel Association, criticized media coverage for generating negative perceptions that discourage travel. Conversely, some tourism executives and officials attribute the decline to the Trump administration’s expansion of immigration enforcement and visa restrictions, which they say have dampened demand. One anonymous tourism official described the current environment as a critical survival period for businesses reliant on international travelers in the lead-up to the 2028 presidential election.