Travellers saying "no thanks" to visiting the US

Tourists from around the world are turning their backs on the US as a potential holiday destination.

Already perceived as an expensive, and in some cases dangerous, destination, the recent belligerence of President Donald Trump, aggressive behaviour by Border Force agents and erroneous deportations has seen demand plummet.

The US tourism industry could be approaching crisis point amid a drastic fall in international bookings, local media reports indicate.

There has not only been a huge fall in bookings from neighbour Canada after Trump's stated desire to make that country "a potential 51st state".

Bookings have dropped by an estimated 70% tourism magazine Travel and Tour World reported.

The International Trade Administration (ITA) has reported an overall fall of 17% across Europe in March compared to March 2024.

Denmark saw a reduction of more than 30%, no surprise after Trump's threats to wrest control of Danish autonomous territory Greenland. Other European nations, including Germany, Ireland, Spain, and Norway, saw decreases of more than 20%.

Hotel giant Accor has reported its bookings for European visitors to the US have fallen by 25%..

The Financial Times newspaper in the UK quoted Paul English, co-founder of influential travel website Kayak, as saying that "In just two months [Trump] has destroyed the reputation of the US, shown one way by diminished travel from the EU to the US."

He warned: "This is not only one more terrible blow to the US economy, it also represents reputation damage that could take generations to repair."

The result is that hopes the US travel industry had in a full recovery to 2019 levels of travel bookings this year have officially been dashed, said a leading economist quoted by Hotel News Now.

"Our pre-inauguration forecast expected international travel to nearly fully recover in 2025 to 2019 levels. We're now pushing that out to 2029," said Adam Sacks, president at Tourism Economics.

"Now we're looking at a full 10 years between pre-pandemic and what will be full recovery. And, of course, that comes with significant economic losses."

Image: The Statue of Liberty, New York. Jorge Ibarra Hernandez, Scop.io

Enough! Greece moves to limit cruise ships

The Greek island used to welcome the arrival of big-spending tourists from cruise ships.

But now they are saying "enough". 

Destinations like Mykonos and Santorini say they are struggling to cope when up to five cruise ships at one time descend on infrastructure that is not capable of catering to the masses. 

Travel Mole reports that Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has confirmed the imposition of a €20 fee on cruise ship visitors to Santorini and Mykonos during high-season summer months.

The two islands are at the heart of Greece’s fight against overtourism, often almost doubling their population during busy days when multiple cruise ships call.

“Greece does not have a structural overtourism problem but some of its destinations have a significant issue during certain weeks or months of the year, which we need to deal with,” the PM said during a press conference.

“Cruise shipping has burdened Santorini and Mykonos and this is why we are proceeding with interventions,” he said.

“The cruise industry has put a strain on Santorini and Mykonos.”

A portion of the cruise passenger tax will be used to improve infrastructure on the islands, he said.

Mitsotakis also said ‘bold’ cruise ship limits are being looked at for the two islands.

“It is important to observe sustainability rules in everything that is built from now on,” he told reporters. “To put the brakes on islands where we believe that the situation has reached a point where the infrastructure limits are actually being tested.”

Greek tourism minister Olga Kefalogianni recently called for cruise ship quotas, and Santorini officials have proposed a daily limit of 8,000 cruise passengers per day from next year.

“It’s impossible for an island such as Santorini to have five cruise ships arriving at the same time,” she said.