US-Bound European Travelers Drops By 17% In March

Dhaka: West European travelers have decreased visits to the United States by at least 17% in March, year on year, according to data published by the US National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) and International Trade Administration (ITA).

Tourist numbers from Germany and the United Kingdom have declined by 29% and 15%, respectively, which indicates even the biggest sources of tourism in the US are shrinking.

These figures reflect the ongoing incidents that directly influenced US-bound travelers. First of all, the recently imposed tighter immigration policy from the US, which has even detained several European tourists at the border, prompted European countries to raise a series of travel advisories, which in turn negatively impacted tourism.

In addition to this, Trump's imposition of trade tariffs also affected consumer confidence, and poor exchange rates of the dollar further escalated the downward trend.

Overall, foreign tourism dropped by 11-12%, with the Caribbean sending 26% fewer tourists, Central America down 24%, South America 11%, Africa 10%, Oceania 8%, and Asia 1%.

Experts believe the overall situation is heading toward an economic recession in the US. For example, just a 10% drop of Canadian visitors in the US alone would put 140,000 US jobs at risk.

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