US drop in international visitors contrasts with rising global tourism

The number of international visitors to the US fell by 4% in the first seven months of 2017, new figures show.

The trend occurred across all regions, with Africa and the Middle East reporting some of the most dramatic declines.

The decrease in the US contrasts with rising tourism globally.

After years of steady increases, international travel to the US peaked at 77.5 million visitors in 2015.

The number of travellers fell about 2% in 2016, a decline that accelerated in the first seven months of 2017, according to US National Travel and Tourism Office figures.

Arrivals from Canada – typically the source of the greatest number of foreign travellers – increased by 4.6% year-on-year through to July.

But visits from the next two major tourist markets – Mexico and the UK – slipped in the period.

Travel from China, which accounted for the fifth highest number of visitors, also fell, while it held steady in Japan, the fourth largest market.

Vincent Wolfington, former chair of the World Travel and Tourism Council, told the BBC “When people travel, they’re looking for a pleasant emotional experience.

“The perception is it’s probably too much trouble at this point in time to visit the US.”

While some have dubbed the fall in travel to the US as a “Trump slump”, the pound has broken through $1.43 as it continues to rise against a weaker dollar, helping the spending power of UK travellers.