International Travelers Named 13 Reasons They stay away from US
International travel remains a major part of the US tourism economy, with the National Travel and Tourism Office tracking tens of millions of overseas arrivals each year. A new roundup of traveler feedback has now put a sharper point on why some international visitors decide not to book a US trip at all. The responses center on 13 barriers, with cost, visas, safety concerns, and border experiences appearing most often in recent travel industry reporting and official tourism data.
The survey findings and the 13 reasons
A recent traveler-focused roundup identified 13 common reasons international visitors stay away from the US, based on published traveler responses and broader tourism reporting in 2024 and 2025. The list includes high trip costs, long visa wait times, worries about gun violence, healthcare costs, border screening concerns, political polarization, complicated entry rules, expensive domestic transportation, tipping expectations, limited paid vacation time for companions, language anxiety, negative perceptions of service, and fear of unexpected fees.
Cost showed up repeatedly across multiple data points. The US Travel Association said in prior industry updates that inbound travel demand is sensitive to airfare, hotel rates, and currency exchange, and those pressures remained visible into 2025. State Department visa appointment backlogs have also been a documented issue in some high-demand markets, making trip planning harder for travelers who need a visitor visa before departure.
Safety also remains a measurable issue in travel decisions. Several foreign governments, including Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, routinely publish US travel advisories that mention local crime risks and state-by-state legal differences. Those advisories do not tell travelers to avoid the US outright, but they do shape how some visitors compare the US with destinations in Western Europe or East Asia.
What this means in US destinations
For US gateway cities, the impact is easiest to see where international tourism usually lands first. New York City, Orlando, Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Francisco depend heavily on overseas visitors, and Visit California and NYC Tourism + Conventions have both highlighted the value of long-haul travelers in recent economic updates. When even a small share of international visitors changes plans, hotels, attractions, restaurants, and airport-area businesses can feel it.
What is confirmed is that cost and entry friction matter across many markets, though there is no single public database that ties each canceled US trip to one exact reason. The National Travel and Tourism Office publishes arrival counts by country, but it does not release a line-by-line breakdown showing whether a traveler stayed home because of visa delays, airfare prices, or safety concerns. That means the 13 reasons are best understood as recurring themes, not a federal ranking.
The local effect also varies by origin market. A traveler from Brazil may face a different visa timeline than a traveler from the United Kingdom, while a visitor from Japan may weigh exchange rates more heavily than border paperwork. For tourism boards in places like Florida, California, Nevada, and New York, that makes international marketing and visitor messaging more targeted than a one-size-fits-all campaign.
Why these concerns keep coming up
The broader context is straightforward. The US is a long-haul, high-cost destination for many travelers, and the total price often includes international airfare, domestic flights, hotel taxes, tipping, attraction tickets, and private health insurance precautions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US State Department publish entry and travel information, but travelers still have to navigate multiple agencies, airport rules, and local laws that can differ by state.
Perception also matters as much as logistics. News coverage of mass shootings, political protests, abortion-law differences, and strict border questioning can influence travelers who have never visited the US before. Those concerns are not universal, and Brand USA has repeatedly said international interest in US travel remains strong, but industry groups have also acknowledged that reassurance and clear information are part of winning bookings.
For travelers already considering a US trip, the practical takeaway is that planning often takes more time and more money than it does in some competing destinations. For US destinations, the message is equally clear: easier trip planning, transparent pricing, and better pre-arrival information can matter just as much as marketing. International arrivals continue to be tracked monthly by the National Travel and Tourism Office, which remains the clearest official measure of whether those barriers are easing.
