Aussies shun US as Trump slump, dollar dive slow travel
Australians are turning their backs on travelling to the United States as tourism experts point the finger at the weak dollar and Donald Trump.
There were 74,877 Australian visitors to the US in March, compared to 81,208 for the same period in 2024, US International Trade Administration data shows.
It was a 7.8 per cent year-on-year monthly fall and the steepest decline since March 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
More than 738,000 Australians travelled to the US in the year ending January 2025, up 9.4 per cent.
The slump comes as Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a warning about an increasing number of would-be visitors being turned back at border control.
Australia’s Smartraveller website warns travellers a valid visa “doesn’t guarantee entry” into US and authorities have “broad powers” to reject admission “for any reason under US law”.
DFAT, via its Smart Traveller advice services, posted on X saying: “Entry requirements to the USA are strict. US authorities have broad powers to decide if you’re eligible to enter.
You might like
“Officials may ask to inspect your electronic devices, emails, text messages or social media accounts. If you refuse, they can deny your entry.”
Dean Long, who leads the Australian Travel Industry Association, the peak body for Australia’s $69 billion travel industry, said interest in the US had cooled in recent months.
“The priced product in the US is very high when compared to the value that you can get across Southeast Asia, in particular, and even parts of Europe,” he said.
“We think currency and value are the two things that are really driving that.”
The exchange rate for the Australian dollar last week fell below 60 US cents, its lowest level since April 2020, following Trump’s sweeping “liberation day” tariffs.
But the dollar has recovered some ground this week. It finished at 63.59 US cents on Tuesday.
Long said it was too soon to tell if the “Trump effect” was flowing through to Australian travellers.
“When Trump was elected, we didn’t actually see any significant change in booking patterns,” he said.
Stay informed, daily
“We are starting to see some changes post-Trump becoming president and some of the policies being implemented.”
A national survey of 1509 Australians aged 18 to 65 indicates fewer people were planning a trip to the US between March 15 and May 15 than the corresponding period 12 months ago.
The quarterly poll, commissioned by the Tourism and Transport Forum, had the US as the fifth most popular international destination for autumn 2024, with 8 per cent of travellers headed there.
The US slid to seventh on the list for this autumn, scooping up less than 6 per cent of Australia’s overseas travel market.
“It’s the first time in three or four years that the US hasn’t been in the top-five destinations,” Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond said.
She put it down to uncertainty within the US, particularly on tariffs, cheap airfares to places such as New Zealand, Japan and Thailand, and the slumping exchange rate.
On the flip side, Osmond said the exchange rate and perception of safety were keeping American visitor numbers to Australia strong at almost 80,000 a year.
Visitor numbers to the US in March were lower for every world region except the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
In a briefing, Tourism Economics said policies and pronouncements from the Trump administration were contributing to a growing wave of negative international traveller sentiment toward the US.
“Heightened border security measures and visible immigration enforcement actions are amplifying concerns,” it said.
“These factors, combined with a strong US dollar, are creating additional barriers for those considering travel to the US.”
There was no doubt high-profile border security cases were grabbing headlines but it was a bigger issue for shorter-haul markets such as Canada and Mexico, Long said.
“If you’re flying direct from Australia to the US, we’re seeing very, very few if any problems,” he said.
