A young French tennis coach who once lived the American dream describes being detained, shackled and expelled under the Trump administration's tightened border rules. JUANA SUMMERS, HOST: There was a sharp drop in the number of European tourists visiting the U.S. last year compared to 2024. Many said the volatile political climate was the reason. Frightening stories of Europeans getting caught in the Trump administration's reinforced border controls have also dampened desires to cross the Atlantic. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley brings us one French person's experience.
A U.S. Travel Association report forecasts a 3.2 per cent decline in international tourism spending in the country for 2025, a loss of $5.7 billion US compared to the previous year. The association largely attributes the loss to a decline in the number of Canadian visitors a trend that has persisted since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office in January, sparked a trade war with Canada and began referring to the country as the 51st state.
He vowed to bring down the cost of groceries (an "old-fashioned" word with which he was obsessed), revive manufacturing, slash federal spending and inefficiency and distribute the savings to the citizenry, all while achieving energy dominance and the high-paying jobs that come with it. By early summer, however, it was becoming clear that Trump's economic policies were not having the promised effect.
