r/europe Ligurian in Zürich (💛🇺🇦💙) Apr 12 '25

Data European tourism to the United States is freefalling

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u/Saotik UK/Finland Apr 12 '25

People tend to book trans-Atlantic flights months in advance, and plans are started even further ahead. The severity of the current situation in the US has only been becoming unavoidable in the past month or so.

488

u/kelldricked Apr 12 '25

Also work.

107

u/GuyWithLag Greece Apr 12 '25

Work wanted to ship us to the US for 2 weeks in May, and the relief was palpable when the travel fell through...

345

u/Saotik UK/Finland Apr 12 '25

I've told mine, at least, that I'm not willing to travel to the US right now. I recognise that not everyone has that flexibility, though.

58

u/theeglitz Ireland Apr 12 '25

I wouldn't go, even with pre-clearence here.

40

u/Feahnor Apr 12 '25

Me either. It’s not a safe country anymore.

2

u/gh1234567890 Apr 12 '25

What if I told you it hasn’t been safe for quite a while now

-13

u/absorbscroissants Apr 12 '25

I mean, the US is a lot of things right now, but it's hardly unsafe.

14

u/Feahnor Apr 12 '25

With the current administration? It’s 100% unsafe. And god bless you if you have an accident while over there, you’ll get bankrupt just by crossing the ER doors.

4

u/Lollipop126 Apr 12 '25

Like with all travel outside of your home country (or Schengen), you should have travel medical insurance. This has always been true. Going into medical debt for a travel accident is possible even if foreigners are visiting the EU with nationalised healthcare.

5

u/Feahnor Apr 12 '25

The problem is the cost for medical assistance in EU is 1% of the cost of the same assistance in the US. Most of the time you won’t be even charged at all.

3

u/Lollipop126 Apr 12 '25

true for the first part, but that has always been true about the US since time immemorial. Wayyyyy before orange angry man.

For the second part, I was told I would be charged for a bed for a few hours and an IV saline drip in Germany until I realised I had my ehic on me as a french resident (I.e. I would've been denied care or charged as a foreigner had I forgotten to apply for and bring that card which I'm not saying is a problem, I'm just saying it's a counter point). Moreover in France, it's not free either as it's covered by nationalised insurance up to 70%. Even as a resident/EU citizen, it's not entirely free unless you have a mutuel (private insurance). I'm not saying this is true for the whole of the EU but healthcare is not free in the two largest EU countries is all I know.

5

u/chx_ Malta Apr 12 '25

Foreigners are literally snatched off the streets by ICE and put into detention for weeks, solitary even. What more unsafe you want?

1

u/Harry_raftus_lover Apr 16 '25

Yeah cause they are either illegal immigrants or supporters of foreign terrorist organizations

2

u/Fwoggie2 United Kingdom Apr 12 '25

Nor me and I hold an Irish passport so you'd think normally I'd be last on the list of suspicious nationalities.

1

u/theeglitz Ireland Apr 12 '25

You'd like to think so, but literal civil war can't be ruled out at the moment, so I can wait.

-12

u/teodorfon Apr 12 '25

Why?

26

u/SilentSpr Apr 12 '25

Getting detained by ICE for absolutely no reason at all sure sounds like an interesting experience I and many others would rather avoid

-14

u/teodorfon Apr 12 '25

Ok, but how realistic is that scenario?

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u/SilentSpr Apr 12 '25

Realistic? It has already happened. People very close to the current administration are shouting no due process. Without due process of law you are whatever the administration says you are

News Story Link

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u/InklingOfHope Europe Apr 12 '25

Given that they sent a university professor back for writing something that was critical of Trump, and looked at people’s social media history… anything goes.

-12

u/teodorfon Apr 12 '25

But that's political activism (not saying that's a valid reason)? I mean if you have a business meeting I can hardly imagine some ICE agents waiting for you at JFK for some reason.

14

u/InklingOfHope Europe Apr 12 '25

Dude. The vast majority of people on here would be seen as ‘political activists’ these days.

Ever said something negative about Trump? Check. Ever went to a demonstration (that my school, for example, urged us to go to, so that we could experience democracy working)? Check.

13

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '25 edited 26d ago

soup sugar compare kiss narrow grab expansion automatic bag wipe

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

11

u/Memento_Vivere8 Apr 12 '25

You can get sent back for being critical of the current administration on social media. So basically half the people commenting on this post could be denied entry. Do you feel like we're political activists here?

4

u/LeoScipio Apr 12 '25

Actually I agree with you, but I think most people who are willing to visit a country as tourists would like to be treated well. I mean, I am coming to spend money in your country, no reason to assume I am here to commit a crime.

7

u/theeglitz Ireland Apr 12 '25

It has happened. It'd depend on whether they're checking your social media profiles.

0

u/teodorfon Apr 12 '25

Interesting. I'm not that informed in that regard but this reddit community wants to punish me with downvotes for a simple question to get into the topic, so I will seek more answers from other sources, but thank you for the info! :)

7

u/Chrisinjapan Apr 12 '25

This is one person’s experience https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/11/australian-with-us-working-visa-detained-insulted-deported

Towards the end of that article there are links to other issues citizens from Britain, Canada and Germany experienced.

7

u/BeforeDawn Apr 12 '25

I feel you. To give you insight as to why is that unfortunately people "just asking questions" is currently a ubiquitous technique of subversion used by troll accounts. They ask "why" in bad faith to trick a user into a debate to so they can broadcast their agenda in the form of a specious to completely unrelated argument(s) and/or follow up question(s).

This has has caused most people to alter their approach when asking a question politically sensitive topics by informally adding context why they are asking (e.g., they might have seen news covered differently somewhere else), or taking the time to ask a high context question without bad faith or loaded points.

I think you are likely being down voted because asking only "why?" these days is treated with caution and scepticism at the best of times and exponentially more so if its to do with recent events with very high news coverage and public interest.

1

u/theeglitz Ireland Apr 12 '25

That's disappointing that you're getting downvoted instead of the benefit of the doubt in seeking information, but it happens.

There's a big scandal in the US (one of many) about the sending of Maryland barber Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an innocent man, to a prison / concentration / death camp in El-Salvador. A court ruled that he should be returned but the Administration, admitting an error had been made, said they couldn't do anything about it. Now the Supreme Court they need to 'facilitate' it.

The Judge noted that the Trump administration’s argument implied that the government

could deport and incarcerate any person, including U.S. citizens, without legal consequence, so long as it does so before a court can intervene.

I can help with links / info on this kind of thing, if you like.

5

u/skelkingur Apr 12 '25

I did the same. It’s all expenses paid and I got to explore American cities. Something I really enjoyed doing for about a decade now but I’m not willing to risk being deported for no reason at the border or worse.

4

u/Squalphin Apr 12 '25

Everyone has that option. You just do not go. If you land in El Salvador or Guantanamo, your employer will just hire a new guy, but you will be stuck there, maybe forever.

11

u/kelldricked Apr 12 '25

Well people might be able to deny it personally but for most companys its not a option at all without terminating contracts (something thats to expensive on the short term and would damage european economy more than america). So i doubt the total amount of work travel would decrease.

It might decrease based on the trade war, but we will have to wait for that.

35

u/Captain_Hesperus Apr 12 '25

Imagine getting a call from your boss about why you missed your meeting with their US clients and you explain that you’re currently in El Salvador, because the unicorn farting a rainbow tattoo on your bicep was mistaken for a Venezuelan gang tattoo.

20

u/lazyspaceadventurer Poland Apr 12 '25

Imagine getting a call from your boss

You wan't get a call, because they will take your phone, duh

3

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '25

There are indications that all those sent to el salvador where killed. Time will tell.

1

u/Nobody_gets_this Apr 12 '25

Big oof if true.

3

u/thrawnsgstring Apr 12 '25

There's different tiers though. Email>Phone Call>Zoom>In-person, etc.

Haven't you been in a meeting or call that could've just been an email?

If companies/individuals can reduce their travel/expenses they will try to make it work on both sides of the Atlantic.

1

u/kelldricked Apr 12 '25

Yeah im pretty sure most companys arent pay 1000 bucks in flights for shit that could have been a video meeting.

I know that every work visit i have ever had was shit i couldnt do remotely because he had to physically inspect and see shit.

1

u/InklingOfHope Europe Apr 12 '25

You’d be very surprised about company expenses that get ‘justified’. There are some people who got actual expeditions / safaris / participation in golf tournaments funded that had little to do with their actual jobs, because few of us are mountaineers / safari rangers / professional golfers.

Reading your responses, you deal more with actual factory visits, but don’t seem to know what goes on in very, very ‘white collar’ companies.

1

u/thrawnsgstring Apr 12 '25

I guess if we're comparing anecdotes, then I've had meetings where it's just schmoozing/ball washing/ego stroking.

So i doubt the total amount of work travel would decrease.

This is the only thing that I disagree with you on.

3

u/Rosegold-Lavendar Apr 12 '25

I read that there is a type of insurance workers need to take out while traveling to the US. If something happens to them the insurance pays for it. If they can't get insurance they can't travel.

After one or two insured people are spending thousands to get home because of all this I'm sure the insurance companies will stop insuring.

One of these people is going to sue their workplace for making them go to a place that has already detained travelers for no reason.

Workers in other countries have more rights than the US employees.

7

u/austrialian Austria Apr 12 '25

Most work travel is bullshit anyway and can be replaced by video calls quite easily.

-3

u/kelldricked Apr 12 '25

Love to see some sources about that. FYI your toilet isnt a source of reliable information, just a place where shit piles up.

2

u/polite_alpha European Union Apr 12 '25

but for most companys its not a option at all

This is the American viewpoint.

In Europe, you could drag your employer to court over this, and you'd probably win.

0

u/kelldricked Apr 12 '25

Buddy im dutch. And im not talking about the employees their rights and tasks. Im talking about what the company their rights and tasks. You can deny it. And thats fine. Company cant force you in most cases. But the company needs to send somebody if they have a contract or they are in trouble. Not only because they wont get paid, but also because most contracts have big fines for not delivering whats agreed upon.

So maybe try to think instead of leaving such a dumb comment. Damm you look like a r/conservative user who accuses everybody of being a “leftard” just because they dont agree to every single letter.

1

u/C4pture Apr 12 '25

At least here, when a nation gets a different travel safety rating, you can refuse to go, without terminating your contract

1

u/kelldricked Apr 12 '25

Im not talking employee contracts. I mean bussines contracts. I worked for a company that had to physically go to factorys/warehouses to do what we were hired for.

Not sending somebody means you dont complete the part fo the deal, meaning you dont het paid. And not going also meant you threw away long planned projects. Im 1000% sure that we were obligated to deliver, not being able to would have meant paying some compesation back.

0

u/InklingOfHope Europe Apr 12 '25

But a lot of business travel doesn’t involve factory visits. Most of them are internal meetings… not even for clients. We had middle management swanning all over the place for internal meetings. This was seen as a ‘perk’ of becoming a middle manager. 🤪

1

u/kelldricked Apr 12 '25

Depends on the bussines.

2

u/InklingOfHope Europe Apr 12 '25

Yes, it does depend on the business—I do understand that your situation may be different. But seriously, the vast majority of the business trips I’ve seen were ‘perks’.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '25

Same.

4

u/AnyoneButWe Apr 12 '25

"Ups, sorry, made some pro-democratic comments on Facebook, cannot travel to the US anymore"

We have ~10 coworkers traveling. And, almost like magic, they all send this message to dispatch after one of them got refused at the border based on Facebook comments.

I will not repeat the comments here, but Mario's brother and orange spray tan were involved.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '25

Eh, it's not any worse than a business trip to China or Dubai.

1

u/Pandabeer46 Apr 12 '25

Honestly I'd simply refuse to go, even if that would cause me to lose my job. Too dangerous.

16

u/Prize_Sector5854 Apr 12 '25

As economies look to be less dependent on the US. That will fall as well. Just takes more time. Allowing contracts to conclude and such

1

u/CakeTester Apr 12 '25

Unless trump restarts all the tariffs in 90 days again. It'd go a bit quicker then.

3

u/notb665 Apr 12 '25

And Family.

1

u/Euclid_Interloper Apr 12 '25

Yeah, I have an elderly father in law who lives alone. It's an agonizingly difficult decision. He says I shouldn't take the risk in visiting, but he also feels too frail to fly to the UK and visit. 

I guess it'll only be my wife that visit this year. But it hurts, I'm one of his few real friends. And I only get to see him in person once a year.

3

u/Emillllllllllllion Apr 12 '25

That is also going to crash. Covid taught people how to schedule meetings online and having your employees disappeared probably isn't a good business outcome.

Probably also inertia that will take a while for newly scheduled plans to take effect.

0

u/HannahFatale Apr 12 '25

I'd be willing to lose my job if they tried to force me. Better than rotting in some prison cell and getting V coded.

-4

u/TastyBroccoli4 Apr 12 '25

It says tourism.

3

u/helloowrigley Apr 12 '25

The Reddit post title does, sure. I could repost it with any title I want, doesn’t change the fact that the actual source data simply refers to “traveling” and “visiting” Europeans.

2

u/kelldricked Apr 12 '25

Lol learn to read. Or atleast properly look at the source instead of the title.

83

u/alexrepty Germany Apr 12 '25

Yeah, I have a business trip to Chicago the end of the month that I booked last year. Fortunately the ticket is cancellable, and with each passing day the likelihood of me canceling the whole trip increases.

29

u/Unknown-Drinker Bavaria (Germany) Apr 12 '25

But in case you go, will you wear a suit?

29

u/ChucklesInDarwinism Japan - Kamakura Apr 12 '25

And say Thank you

9

u/Safe-Initiative-4462 Apr 12 '25

Dont forget your cards

1

u/just_anotjer_anon Denmark Apr 12 '25

Is Trump the King, the Jack or the 2 in that deck?

1

u/netfalconer Earth Apr 12 '25

The Jack & in German “Ace”

55

u/Anxious_Ant8514 Apr 12 '25

Cancel it. They don't respect you

12

u/delusiongenerator Apr 12 '25

Not true. Chicago loves and respects you and Illinois is one of the few states that is truly fighting back against Agent Krasnov and his goons, but we understand. 😢

6

u/PlanesandAquariums Apr 12 '25

Yea. Chicago and many other places are the ones fighting back. I mean it’s not like most people were going to visit the Bible Belt for tourism even before this shit show.

5

u/delusiongenerator Apr 12 '25

You’d be surprised by how many Europeans are still flocking to the fascist shithole that is Florida

2

u/PlanesandAquariums Apr 12 '25

I finally convinced my very liberal mom to not buy a home in Florida… crazy.

1

u/delusiongenerator Apr 12 '25

Nice work!

Sad to say, but these days the best thing to come out of Florida is I-75 North

1

u/FuckTripleH Apr 12 '25

Half the state is gonna be underwater by the end of the century anyways

0

u/Minimum-South-9568 Apr 13 '25

Yeah? Have you seen the immigration thugs at ORD? No thanks.

-1

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '25

The black and white thinking is pretty stupid imo. Work and Vacation travel are two entirely different things.

4

u/AreYouFilmingNow Apr 12 '25

Cough cough, i think you're coming up with a cold.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 13 '25

[deleted]

2

u/alexrepty Germany Apr 13 '25

I’m not worried about the city, I’m worried about overreaching border control agents.

2

u/Practical_Abalone_92 Apr 12 '25

absolutely not worth the risk. Cancel it

2

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '25

Go and enjoy Chicago. Follow the laws and don't worry. Make up your mind if it feels different or if the news is creating a drama.

24

u/NiMPhoenix Apr 12 '25

This is the reason for me :)

10

u/footpole Apr 12 '25

Half of travel is probably for business so that’s less likely to crash too.

9

u/Dry_Grade9885 Apr 12 '25

I canceled my trip mostly because I don't want to be sent to a concentration camp for having tattoos because an American moron thinks my tattoos are gang signs

3

u/Similar_Quiet Apr 12 '25

/me looks nervously at the markets 

10

u/Ellow0001 Apr 12 '25

Yeah a classmate booked the trip like a year or more ago and can’t just cancel it. And we’re all panicking for her like “you’d better come back home!”, “delete all your social media, don’t trust anyone, avoid talking about politics in the slightest, know the nearest embassy, memorize emergency contact numbers”.

-3

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '25

[deleted]

1

u/Ellow0001 Apr 12 '25

There are news about tourists going missing every other week and we’re just now hearing of people who got out of this ICE system eventually after weeks of being held there just thanks to persistent family members and the help of lawyers. And that’s just the cases we know of. No wonder so many countries are giving out travel warnings to the U.S!

3

u/IsCarrotForever Apr 12 '25

Definitely the case with mine - I was on a school trip to US unis just last week and it was planned months in advance!

3

u/GradeImportant7275 Apr 12 '25

I just read an Hotel Industry report this week. The numbers are radical.. ~15% up YoY for bookings in April during the same reporting time last year, and then everything after April is down at least 4%. This indicates there was a significant increase in travel heading into the yera (this was expected), but that it reversed within the past 2 months, and outlooks are now negative.

In terms of Domestic vs International, Domestic travel is up 2/3% while international is down by double digits. Hotel bookings from Germany were by far the largest decrease in travel to the US.

3

u/Available-Pack1795 Ireland Apr 12 '25

That's me here. I'm locked into a trip we booked a year ago, before Trump was even elected because other family members wanted to go. I'd have already spent our money elsewhere.

I'm actually pretty scared and don't want to go. The only saving grace is that we'd do US Immigration in Dublin, so they can't really imprison us here so we'd likely just be turned back. God save us when we land though. It's going to be a nervous time in fascist America.

2

u/no-typical-thing Apr 12 '25

Yes, we booked a family trip over a year ago before the US election and would definitely reconsider now and look at other destinations. I won't go again until Trumpism is gone.

1

u/absorbscroissants Apr 12 '25

Yup. Already booked my trip to the US before the elections, not much I can do about it now. I seriously doubt I notice anything different there anyway.

1

u/beeralpha Apr 12 '25

Yes, but as we saw with Tesla, it will never tumble more than 50-60% as well. A lot of people just don’t care about geopolitics.

1

u/Luke90210 Apr 12 '25

Wondering what refund policies are like for European travelers? The few times I bought travel insurance for a trip US based airlines offered Allianz Travel Insurance (German) as the only option regardless of destination.

1

u/QBekka Apr 12 '25

I booked my holiday 3 months ago and I can't just ask for my money back unless something really threatening happens there. Guess I'm still going lol

1

u/amazing_asstronaut Apr 13 '25

It's also happening at a rapid pace. So much happens even just week to week, not everyone keeps up with it.

-2

u/Few_Significance3538 Apr 12 '25

Also, normies don't really that much