American tourism has slumped since Trump took office, costing the U.S. more than $4 billion

Travel to America is down since Trump took office.
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The Trump Slump is real, and it's costing the U.S. "bigly." Since President Trump took office, America has slipped from being the second-most popular tourist destination, behind France, to the third, forfeiting its standing to Spain, NBC News reports. That is reflected in a 3.3 percent drop in travel spending in the U.S. and a 4 percent drop in inbound travel, the National Travel and Tourism Office reports, or a loss of $4.6 billion and 40,000 jobs.

"It's not a reach to say the rhetoric and policies of this administration are affecting sentiment around the world, creating antipathy toward the U.S. and affecting travel behavior," the president of Tourism Economics, Adam Sacks, told The New York Times last fall.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.