An IMGlobalWealth.com News Report
The United States remains one of the world’s most powerful countries. It also remains the world’s largest travel and tourism economy. But recent tourism data points to a more uncomfortable reality: America’s power to attract people is under strain.
In 2025, international inbound visits to the US fell by 5.5% to 68.3 million, according to the U.S. Travel Association. International inbound travel spending also declined by 2.4% to $175 billion and remains 18% below 2019 levels in inflation-adjusted terms. A full return to the 2019 level of 79 million visits is not expected until 2029.
“Hard power can force attention. Soft power must earn attraction. America may still dominate the global stage, but its inbound mobility slump suggests that its appeal is no longer automatic”
𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑶𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑰𝑴𝑮𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍𝑾𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉.𝒄𝒐𝒎 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔
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That decline matters because inbound mobility is not simply about holidays. It is an economic export. Foreign visitors bring money earned elsewhere and spend it in American hotels, restaurants, shops, theatres, airports, convention centres, universities and cities. When fewer people come, the effects are felt well beyond the travel industry.
The contrast with global tourism trends is striking. Reuters, citing World Travel & Tourism Council data, reported that the US registered a 6% drop in foreign visitors in 2025 even as global tourism spending rose by 6.7% to $11.7 trillion. More than 1.5 billion tourists travelled internationally, while France received 105 million visitors and Spain 96.5 million. The US attracted about 68 million.
The figures point to more than a tourism slowdown. They raise a broader question about inbound mobility: whether fewer people are choosing to visit, study, invest, work or build relationships with the United States because the country’s image has become harder, more selective and less welcoming.
For decades, America’s influence has rested on a combination of hard power and soft power. Its military, currency, technology and diplomatic reach command attention. But its universities, films, brands, cities, national parks and promise of opportunity have helped win admiration. Travel turns that admiration into lived experience.
The concern now is that America’s harder political image may be weakening that attraction. U.S. Travel says the recovery in international inbound travel remains sensitive to policy conditions, global sentiment and geopolitical stability. It also warns that inbound visits remain exposed to visa fee increases, extended visa wait times and negative sentiment towards the US in key source markets.
This reputational strain is visible in wider perception data. Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index 2026 still ranks the US first, but says it recorded the steepest decline among all 193 nation brands. Its soft-power score fell by 4.6 points to 74.9, less than 1.5 points ahead of China. Pew Research Center also found in 2025 that overall ratings of the US had declined in 15 of 24 surveyed countries, including falls of 20 percentage points or more in Mexico, Sweden, Poland and Canada.
Hard power can force attention. Soft power must earn attraction. America may still dominate the global stage, but its inbound mobility slump suggests that its appeal is no longer automatic.
