When the world’s biggest tourism market begins to look less like Disneyland and more like a running episode of House of Cards, you can be sure the travelling public will take notice. And, according to the latest Global Rescue Summer 2025 Traveller Safety and Sentiment Survey (globalrescue.com), that’s precisely what is happening.
Despite America’s enduring lure of Broadway lights, national parks, and bottomless coffee refills, many international and younger travellers are quietly taking the USA off their shortlists. The reasons? Protests, politics, and an undercurrent of civil unrest make “Welcome to America” sound less reassuring than it once did.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Let’s start with the numbers because statistics speak louder than slogans in business travel than in politics. More than half of survey respondents (52%) said their plans to visit the United States remain unaffected. That’s the good news.
But peel back the layers and the story changes. While just 1% of Americans have cancelled domestic travel plans because of unrest in their own backyard, nearly 12% of international travellers have decided the US is one destination they can live without for now. That is not the cancellation rate you want to frame in red, white, and blue bunting.
Dan Richards, CEO of The Global Rescue Companies and a member of the US Travel and Tourism Advisory Board at the US Department of Commerce, summed it up neatly:
“The data reflects a widening perception gap between how American and international travellers are responding to unrest and political instability in the US. This disconnect underscores the importance of communication, transparency and safety preparedness for travellers and travel providers alike.”
In other words, Americans may feel safe enough, but international visitors are scanning the headlines and quietly making other plans.
Politics Enters the Picture
Here’s where it gets more awkward. The political climate in the United States, which can swing from grand debate to gladiatorial brawl in a single cable news segment, is increasingly on travellers’ radar. While 62% of all respondents shrugged and said politics doesn’t affect their travel plans, only 26% of non-US respondents agreed. Nearly one in five international travellers confessed to actively reconsidering future trips to America.
That’s seven percentage points higher than the global average and a full 12 points above US residents’ comfort levels. Washington may be about checks and balances, but the arithmetic here seems unbalanced.
Age Matters
The survey also reveals a generational split. Travellers under 35 were likelier to let politics and unrest influence their choices. Nearly 10% have postponed US trips for political reasons—more than double the rate of older age groups.
And when it comes to outright cancellations, 8% of under-35s said they’d scrubbed their US holiday plans due to protests or unrest, compared with 4% of those aged 35–54, and a mere 3% of the 55-plus travellers who’ve seen a protest or two in their time and are perhaps harder to rattle.
Adjusting, Avoiding, or Staying Away
The compromise is simple for some: avoid hotspots where unrest is most likely. Seventeen percent of respondents said they would steer clear of destinations inside the US known for protests. Another 9 per cent admitted they are still on the fence, perhaps waiting for the next news cycle before deciding whether to keep or cancel.
As Richards put it:
“Maintaining trust, safety and situational awareness is vital to ensuring travellers feel secure whether they’re visiting from abroad or exploring their own country.”
The Bigger Picture
Tourism is as much about perception as it is about reality. The US may remain safe and welcoming, but if potential visitors abroad think otherwise, airlines, hotels, and tour operators will feel the chill. International tourism is fickle, and few things unsettle it faster than nightly television images of protest-clogged streets or political gridlock.
For America, the challenge is not just to be safe but to be seen as secure, requiring deft communication, honest reassurances, and a willingness to acknowledge that tourists are not immune to headlines.
