Title: Europe Looks South: U.S. Tourism Declines as Latin America Gains Ground

By: Alejandra Legarda | Special for Al Dia News

As the summer of 2025 approaches, the U.S. tourism industry is facing an alarming trend: a growing disinterest among European travelers. Once a top transatlantic destination, the United States is now losing ground to Latin American countries, driven by a complex mix of visa restrictions, political unease, and safety concerns.

According to the latest Tourism Economics report, flight bookings from Europe to the U.S. for the May–July period have dropped 10% compared to last year. April already showed a 9.5% decline in bookings for May, with projections of –10.8% in June and –13% in July. Overall, international arrivals to the U.S. are expected to drop by 8.7% this year, potentially costing the country $8.5 billion in lost tourism revenue (Tourism Economics, 2025).

The response from major European airlines has been swift. Lufthansa has reduced flights to New York, Miami, and Chicago, reallocating its wide-body fleet to high-demand routes like India, Japan, and Greece. British Airways canceled its Las Vegas flights and scaled back services to Orlando and Philadelphia, focusing instead on Mediterranean destinations like Athens and Málaga (Travel and Tour, 2025).

Air France also restructured operations—canceling its Seattle route and cutting back on Washington D.C.—while KLM pulled back from San Francisco and Boston to expand in Asia and Eastern Europe. Spanish airline Iberia dropped plans for a new Dallas route and reduced flights to Chicago, instead increasing service to Bogotá, Lima, and Buenos Aires, where demand is surging (European travel agencies, 2025).

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) removed its Oslo-Newark and Copenhagen-Los Angeles routes, now focusing on popular vacation destinations within Europe such as Spain, Croatia, and Greece.

This shift signals more than a reconfiguration of airline schedules—it marks a deeper change in traveler preferences. European tourists are choosing culturally familiar, politically stable, and less bureaucratic destinations. Latin America, with its vibrant landscapes and growing connectivity, is emerging as the new tourism magnet in the Western Hemisphere.

Sources:

• Tourism Economics Report, May 2025

• Travel and Tour, Q2 2025

• Interviews with travel agencies in Paris, Madrid, London, and Copenhagen