WTTC: America’s Travel Sector at Risk Without Action
THE U.S. IS projected to lose $12.5 billion in international travel spending this year, falling to under $169 billion from $181 billion in 2024, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. That’s a 22.5 percent drop from the 2019 peak of $217.4 billion.
WTTC’s Economic Impact Research found the loss won’t hit travel and tourism alone, calling it a direct blow to the U.S. economy, affecting communities, jobs and businesses nationwide.
“This is a wake-up call for the U.S. government,” said Julia Simpson, WTTC president and CEO. “The world’s biggest travel and tourism economy is heading in the wrong direction, not because of a lack of demand, but because of a failure to act. While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the ‘closed’ sign.”
The U.S., home to the world’s largest travel and tourism sector, is the only one of 184 economies analyzed by WTTC and Oxford Economics projected to see a decline in international visitor spending in 2025.
The invisible crown
Nearly 90 percent of tourism spending in 2024 came from domestic travel, as Americans vacationed at home in record numbers, the WTTC report said. However, this reliance on domestic tourism masks a vulnerability: international travel drives real growth and the U.S. is losing ground.
“Without urgent action to restore international traveler confidence, it could take several years for the U.S. to return to even pre-pandemic levels of international visitor spend—let alone the peak from 10 years ago,” she said. “This is about growth in the U.S. economy. It’s doable, but it needs leadership from D.C.”
New March data from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows a sharp drop in inbound travel from several key international markets:
- UK arrivals fell nearly 15 percent year over year.
- Germany dropped more than 28 percent.
- South Korea declined almost 15 percent.
- Other key markets—Spain, Colombia, Ireland, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic—saw double-digit declines between 24 percent and 33 percent.
As expected, the Canadian market is shrinking, with early summer bookings down over 20 percent from last year, the report said, warning it’s more than a dip.
“It’s a wake-up call.”
While other countries move forward, the U.S. is slipping back, the report noted. Domestic travelers kept the lights on during the pandemic, but without a bold international recovery plan, the world’s largest Travel & Tourism economy risks falling further behind.
A missed opportunity
Travel and tourism contributed $2.6 trillion to the economy last year and supported over 20 million jobs, WTTC said. It also generated more than $585 billion in tax revenue annually, accounting for nearly 7 percent of all government income. With a strong international visitor base, the sector could grow further, as it has long been a reliable driver of federal, state, and local tax revenue.
At the same time, outbound travel is surging, with Americans traveling abroad in large numbers. However, inbound recovery from key markets has stalled. The U.S. is welcoming fewer visitors from neighboring countries and beyond, signaling a decline in its global appeal.
WTTC warns that this imbalance not only impacts local economies and jobs but also weakens America’s position as a top global destination for trade, culture and business.
International visitors generated $217.4 billion in revenue and supported nearly 18 million jobs across the U.S. in 2019. Today, that legacy is under threat. The association is calling for immediate action to improve travel access, rebuild international marketing, and restore global traveler confidence in the U.S.
In December, UN Tourism reported international tourism reached 98 percent of pre-pandemic levels in 2019, with approximately 1.1 billion tourists traveling internationally in the first nine months of 2024. The Americas recovered 97 percent of pre-pandemic arrivals, just 3 percent below 2019 levels.
