In the United States, Tourism Was Big Business
Emphasis on 'was.' Trump's policies are wrecking the economy on the ground floor
I love to travel.
There’s joy in new experiences, in stepping out of your comfort zone and exploring new places and cultures you’ve never been exposed to before. New foods, new languages, new landscapes, new perspectives.
Not everyone can afford to travel in their lifetimes, but if you can, it’s well worth it. Assuming, of course, you can do so safely.
As a woman, taking precautions for the sake of safety is vital. It’s important for men too, of course, but there are added risks for women — I’ve had my share of worrying experiences and potential threats.
There’s always that one stranger that pays a little too close attention to you for a little too long until you’re able to escape his gaze and slip away. There’s always that moment where you’re looking over your shoulder because something doesn’t feel quite right.
Sometimes, there’s even that moment like what happened to a close friend of mine, when you realize a stranger slipped something in your drink. Thankfully, my sister-in-law saw it happen and was able to alert her in time.
Our fun family vacation could easily have ended up being extremely traumatic instead of the relaxing getaway we hoped for. Needless to say, that was a very tense night.
Fearing for your safety certainly puts a damper on an otherwise exceptional trip.
And it is for that reason, that fear for our safety, that so many people like myself are avoiding the United States. I used to travel through New England regularly; my husband and his family are from Connecticut, and I adore the town where they live.
Old stone walls, beautiful autumnal forests, sheer mountains and winding cliffside roads… it’s my favourite vacation spot.
But I haven’t gone there since Trump’s second election win. And I likely never will again. It breaks my heart, but it’s simply not worth the risk.
Like many Canadians and other folks around the world, I have been boycotting the U.S. as much as I possibly can. That includes travel, and that includes buying Canadian or non-U.S. products whenever I can find them.
It is one part protest, and one part distrust. If I were to cross paths with the wrong border agent, I could be in very real danger.
I love travel. And for the most part, I’m brave enough to travel alone.
But bravery and stupidity are not the same thing.
ICE is out of control.
Nobody is safe; citizens with a darker skin tone or foreign accent are being rounded up alongside tourists, green-card holders and people going through the legal system to immigrate to the U.S.
They’re even snatching people out of court houses as they try to ‘do it the right way’ — which is what the administration claims they want.
I had someone recently tell me that because I’m white, I would be safe.
Au contraire.
Canadian visitors are being detained and held by ICE at an unprecedented rate, including minor children. We’re talking about toddlers, guys. Toddlers in ICE detention, held for longer than legally allowed in the case of little kids.
When my husband travelled to Canada to be here for our wedding, he was stopped by U.S. border patrol on the way into Canada. They had a blockade checking traffic out of the country, not just coming in.
They made him get out of his car, they searched it with a dog, and they questioned him on why he was leaving. When he told them he was getting married, they asked him questions about me.
He mentioned I was a writer, and they honed in on my job, wanting to know what publication I write for and what kinds of thing I write about.
He left it vague and didn’t mention that I’m critical of Trump. But if they want that kind of information from a born American citizen about his Canadian wife, what does that say?
It tells me they’re hunting for dissent. It means, if I were to enter the United States, my work here on World-Weary would likely come under scrutiny. What do we assume might happen next?
Might I be accused of trying to stay illegally with my American husband? Might I be labelled a terrorist for stoking ‘Anti-American’ values, per NSPM-7?
I don’t want to put myself in that situation, so I won’t. Millions of people won’t.
And this is devestating to American businesses, both from a lack of tourist revenue, and also from a lack of local business. A lot of people who would otherwise go on shopping sprees in Minneapolis, for example, are in the streets protesting or staying home out of fear of ICE. L.A.’s local economy has sharply suffered, too.
ICE agents have murdered people. Nobody is safe, so nobody is out taking the risks just to spend their money.
In places where ICE agents prowl the streets, money has simply stalled.
As I mentioned, women have other safety concerns while travelling.
In other countries, the people involved in Epstein’s trafficking ring are being investigated, arrested, and held accountable.
In the United States, they still hold positions of power — including the Presidency. Let’s not kid ourselves about how many times Trump is mentioned in the files; he isn’t a passing mention, he is explicitly described as being involved actively in the crimes.
It’s alleged until proven guilty, but the fact that there isn’t going to be an investigation is the entire point here.
It’s very clear how little women are respected, how little our bodily autonomy and wellbeing is valued in the United States. And that’s just cisgender women — transgender people of all stripes are in very serious danger there.
Don’t get me wrong, you get bigots here in Canada too, but they’re decidedly not government-sanctioned.
Women, LGBTQ+ folks of all stripes, people of colour, immigrants, people living in poverty — it is abundantly clear Trump does not care about you. He’s fine with his thugs beating you in the street or throwing you in cells to rot.
They’re building concentration camps, guys. They aren’t doing that to protect you.
The boycott of U.S. travel is an issue of safety, but also of morality.
Even if you do feel safe going to the U.S., why would you? Why would you want your hard-earned money going to support the economy of the country doing this to their own people?
Why would you want to support the country that’s actively threatening to disrupt world peace, end NATO and plunge us all into World War III?
And yes, I know — not all Americans support Trump. I’m not saying y’all do.
But like it or not, he’s running your country, and he represents your nation on the world stage. You can say ‘not my President’ all you like, but he literally is.
We can’t ignore that. And we don’t want our hard-earned money going to support the new Nazi state.
For Canadians especially, the whole ‘51st State’ situation is insulting. Every time American business owners or tourism industry reps talk about how we ‘got our feelings hurt’ and we’ll just come back eventually, we get angrier.
We can be spiteful, and we’re certainly not eager to pay y’all for taking us for granted.
We have been betrayed, brutally, and for the last time. It’s not going to go back to normal once Trump is gone, guys. That ship has well and truly sailed.
So, what does the loss of tourism revenue mean for the U.S.?
Panic. It means panic.
Tourism was a huge industry in the United States, accounting for several trillion dollars of the total economy, as well as tens of millions of jobs.
When tourism takes a hit and businesses have to start laying people off, the whole economy shudders. Tax income is directly tied to tourism, too — less tourists, less revenue, less money for public needs.
Now, that money is drying up faster than Lake Mead. And it is directly due to Trump’s policies that this is happening. There’s no ambiguity as far as causes go; Trump has made it clear foreign visitors are not welcome, so we’re not coming anymore.
So, yes. Tourism was big business. But that business has been axed.
And frankly, I’m glad to see it! For the ethical reasons I stated above, because of the suffering of people trapped under Trump’s regime, because of the Epstein issue, because of the threats to NATO and America’s allies, I’m glad to see the world rejecting the United States.
I’m sorry that it makes life harder for my friends. But frankly, taking Trump down is worth it.
The boycotts are working. Now is not the time to soften our stance, it’s time to ramp it up.
And we need to be public about it. So many people in the tourism industry try to blame the tariffs, or the weather, or the exchange rate and a rising cost of living — anything to avoid coming to terms with what’s really happening.
No. It’s about Trump.
And they need to square with that.
Tourism was a big business in the United States, but now it’s going under.
At this point, I call that a win.
Solidarity wins.
I agree. The U.S. economy is on shaky legs now. Tourism is just one pillar. With international tourism taking a nosedive off a cliff, the hospitality industry is also going with it. More layoffs, more jobless claims, which means a serious recession soon. We're already heading in, pretty soon we'll be hitting the rapids.
I'm glad you mentioned the interrogation your husband got at the border. Not that I'm going anywhere beyond the U.S. for a while. I have the same issues you have. My social media presence that's not exactly full of loyal praises for the U.S. government. My podcast this week is a good example.
That secret, not secret route across the Maine/New Brunswick border I know about is still open if you need it (just kidding).