Nearly 80% of Southeast Asians say the U.S. is losing its appeal as a travel destination. Travelers are concerned about discrimination, the Trump Administration and guns, a CNBC survey found. Interest in visiting the country was highest among those from Vietnam and the Philippines.

New York

Recent data shows a 3.4% drop in visitor arrivals to the United States, reversing the upward trend seen the previous year. A CNBC survey of 6,000 Southeast Asian travelers found that nearly 80% believe the U.S. is becoming less attractive as a destination, citing concerns about discrimination, the Trump administration, and gun violence.

While interest in U.S. travel remains relatively high among people from Vietnam and the Philippines, other Southeast Asian countries, such as Singapore, report a significant decline in interest. Despite these concerns, Asia-Pacific travelers still represent a major portion of foreign travel spending in the U.S., though a shift in preferences could redirect billions to other destinations.

CNBC survey: Why interest to visit the U.S. is declining

More travelers are skipping trips to the United States as a June data shows a 3.4% drop in visitor arrivals. CNBC's travel editor Monica Petrelli is here to tell us more, Mon. Yeah, good morning, Sherry. So some might say, well, 3.4%, that's not too bad considering. However, if we look to June of last year when arrivals to the U.S. were up 13% and that that is really the overall trajectory we see for the U.S. and most countries is to see arrivals going up. Well, it puts that negative 3% into perspective. Now, of course, this data is advanced data. It's not final yet. It does not include arrivals coming from Mexico and Canada. We know no country has responded as much as Canadians have in terms of postponing or canceling trips to the U.S. altogether. Now, we've seen this from other countries as well, mainly in Western Europe, places like Germany and France, but also South Korea. This is slightly offset by increases from other spots like Israel and Argentina. But really going through all this information had me start wondering, well, how are Southeast Asians responding to the U.S. right now? Are they really wanting to take trips there or not? And so CNBC Travel commissioned a survey to find out. Take a listen. For summer travel, the U.S. has got it all beaches, mountains, cities and countryside. But this year, it's also got tariffs, stricter border policies and an America first agenda that's prompting some travelers to holiday elsewhere. We're the biggest carrier that flies in the United States. We fly to over 50 cities within within the United States. Our traffic, our bookings going over the next six months are down. We're down about 10 percent. Canadians are deciding to travel within domestic Canada or potentially to Europe. Here in Southeast Asia, costs are normally the top consideration when booking trips. However, when it comes to the U.S., travelers have different concerns. A new CNBC survey of 6,000 travelers shows worries about discrimination. Actions by the Trump administration and gun violence are top factors impacting interest in visiting the United States. These concerns, though, are not enough to stop all travelers, particularly those from Vietnam and the Philippines, from heading stateside. It could be many reasons. One of it could be, you know, because of diaspora ties with the U.S. So it could be because of family connections who live there. Besides that, there's the aspirational factor and the soft power of U.S. culture through movies and through, you know, TV shows that still is very attractive. However, not all travelers are pushing their concerns to the side. In Singapore, more than half of those surveyed said they're less interested in going to the U.S. now than they were six months ago. I wouldn't say I'll be particularly keen, especially with all the news and everything that's been going on. The situation is not stable to me. So I'm probably not considering to travel to the U.S. within this next six months. My perception of the U.S. has changed over time. But specifically over the last six months, I feel that it's become more of an unsafe place. Yeah, because of my racial status and as well as I mean, generally drugs. And it seems quite unsettled. I would be worried if whether I'll be detained. This effect may only make a slight impact on the overall U.S. In 2023, Asia-Pacific made up nearly 40 percent of foreign personal travel spend in the U.S., making it by far the largest spending group. But even if foreign travel were to drop 10 percent this year, J.P. Morgan analysts say it would only take 0.1 percent off GDP growth. Still, that could mean billions flowing into other key travel markets like other parts of Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. And there's no doubt that these other countries will gladly take the tourist dollars the U.S. isn't able to hang on to. Now you can see more about the survey in a report that we published on CNBC dot com this morning in it. We also go into some data analyzing sentiment in terms of buzz and impressions about going to the U.S. buzz is whether or not what you're hearing about a certain destination impressions is what a person feels themselves in it. We can see impressions of the U.S. as a travel destination have gone down globally. But that data comporting with CNBC's own showing many people still planning to head there the rest of this year.

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