Inbound Travel to the U.S. Expected to Fall for First Time Since 2020
Photo Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection sign at CBP office inside the terminal of Los Angeles International Airport. Adobe Stock / MichealVi
Skift Take
2025 was supposed to be another year of post-pandemic travel recovery. Instead, inbound travel to the U.S. is sliding. Will major events planned for 2026 be enough to reverse the trend?
Inbound travel to the U.S. is expected to fall for the first time since 2020, according to a recent report from the U.S. Travel Association.
The trade group projects a 6.3% decline in inbound international visits this year to 67.9 million – roughly 85% of 2019 levels. The downturn stems from “significantly” fewer visits from Canada and little growth from other countries, according to the October 1 report.
It’s a significant drop from the group’s previous forecast in January, which projected an 8.8% increase to 78.8 million visits, with inbound travel surpassing 2019 numbers by 2026. Now, a full post-pandemic recovery isn’t expected until 2029, when international
