Aussies shun US as Trump slump, dollar dive slow travel

Australians are turning their backs on travelling to the US as tourism experts point the finger at the weak dollar and President 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.

But Dean Long, boss of the peak body representing 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,” the Australian Travel Industry Association chief executive told AAP.

“We think 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 Mr Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.

But the dollar has recovered some ground this week and finished at 63.59 US cents on Tuesday.

Mr 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.

“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 from March 15 to 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 eight per cent of travellers headed there.

The US slid to seventh on the list for this autumn, scooping up less than six 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 told AAP.

She put it down to uncertainty within the US, particularly on tariffs, cheap air fares to places such as New Zealand, Japan and Thailand, and the slumping exchange rate.

On the flip side, Ms Osmond said the exchange rate and perception of safety were keeping American visitor numbers to Australia strong at almost 80,000 a year.

Visitors 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, Mr Long said.

“If you’re flying direct from Australia to the US, we’re seeing very, very few if any problems,” he said.

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”.

Callum Godde
(Australian Associated Press)