Illustration: Tang Tengfei/GT

According to a report by AFP on Sunday, growing "antipathy" to the US is causing foreign tourists to "turn away" from the country. Citing the World Tourism Forum Institute, the report notes that a mix of stringent immigration policies, a strong dollar and global political tensions "could significantly affect" international arrivals, "potentially reshaping the nation's tourism sector for years to come." International tourists are casting their protest against the US' high policy barriers by "voting with their feet."

The US tourism industry is suffering due to the US government's tough stance on tariffs and other policies. According to a report by Tourism Economics, the US tourism sector could lose approximately $64 billion in 2025 due to reduced international and domestic travel. The impact on the Canadian market is particularly significant.

Meanwhile, Western European tourists, who once made up 37 percent of all visitors to the US, are now being pushed away by the US' increasingly restrictive policies. America's allies, including Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Denmark, have recently issued new travel guidance for their citizens traveling to the US. Some analysts suggest that travelers now find entering the US "too difficult or unpredictable." This reality is steadily weakening the US' competitiveness as a tourism destination.

A series of "high fence" policies by the US government are diminishing global tourists' enthusiasm for visiting the US. According to data from the US government, the number of overseas visitors to the US fell 2.4 percent in February from a year earlier, with visitors from China falling by 11 percent. Not long ago, Chinese tourists were one of the largest foreign groups traveling to the US and also among the highest spenders. Tourism has long been an important part of cultural exchanges between China and the US, playing an irreplaceable role in fostering communication between the peoples of the two countries and building the public foundation for bilateral relations. However, in recent years, the number of Chinese tourists visiting the US has significantly declined.

Wang Yufan, a scholar at the Department for American Studies, China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times that in recent years, the US has used various excuses to scrutinize and harass Chinese citizens entering the country. Some Chinese students have faced long-term interrogations and forced deportations by US authorities. Coupled with the US' stigmatization of China, incidents of discrimination and violence against Asians, and other issues, these entry restrictions and security concerns have dampened the enthusiasm of Chinese tourists, leading to safety anxieties and creating a chilling effect.

From tariff policy adjustments to stricter visa controls, as well as changes in immigration measures and growing tensions with allies, a series of recent policy shifts in the US have made traveling there more complicated and significantly reduced its appeal. International visitors no longer perceive the US as the "city on a hill" of prosperity, but instead face a stricter and more uncertain entry environment. As global tourism gradually recovers, the US seems to have raised a giant "No Entry" sign. For international tourists, traveling to the US has naturally taken a backseat to more welcoming, safe, and convenient alternative destinations. The alienation of international visitors has become a sharp irony against the myth of US openness.