President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he was not worried about falling visitor numbers to the United States, calling it “not a big deal” and expressing hope that a weaker dollar would help to reverse the decline.

Trump Blames Tourism Drop On Nationalism, Says It is “Not A Big Deal”

Earlier this week, I shared data from the International Trade Administration showing a steep decline in foreign tourism to the United States, particularly from Western Europe. Overall, foreign visitors flying into the US fell by almost 10% in March compared with March 2024. Asked this in the Oval Office during an impromptu chat with the press on Wednesday, April 24, 2025, President Trump did not appear concerned:

“There is a little nationalism there, I guess, perhaps. It is not a big deal.”

Later on, Trump voiced hope that the weaker US dollar would help spur tourism:

“It makes it very hard for us to get tourism, and our dollar is a little bit on the low side and that means that a lot of tourism is going to come in.

“But I can see a little bit of nationalism at work, and I can see it likewise with us—not wanting to go to certain countries. But that’ll work out very easily.”

A recent Skift survey found that for foreign travelers, the number one reason for not wanting to visit was the political climate.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan projects the drop in tourism would skim 0.1%  from gross domestic product. While JPMorgan primarily blamed the new US tariff policy, it added: “Concerns around detentions of foreign visitors, sometimes by accident, are only compounding this effect.”

Asked about that, Trump said, “No, we treat our tourists great. We are the tourism capital of the world. There’s no place like this and there may be a little bit of nationalism, but I doubt it.”

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly later added, “President Trump’s agenda to make America wealthy, safe, and beautiful again benefits Americans and international visitors alike.”

CONCLUSION

President Trump believes that falling tourism numbers to the USA may be due to nationalism but are not a big deal and a weaker dollar will bring tourists back. He also believes that tourists are treated very well and the US is the “tourism capital of the world.”

Do you agree with the POTUS?

image: White House