Difficult conversations on rates, border arrest reports and unfavorable change rates are putting some travelers, especially Canadians, outside trips to the United States this year.
But those in Asia say that they are avoiding trips to the US for different reasons.
Almost 80% of Southeast Asia travelers said the United States is losing appeal as a travel destination, according to a CNBC travel survey.
One in four said that their interest in visiting the country decreased in the last six months, and respondents say they are more concerned about possible discrimination, the actions of the Trump administration and armed violence than for costs.
The news about the tariffs and border policies of the United States negatively affected the younger travelers than older than the elderly, according to the survey, but younger travelers were still more likely to be interested in traveling to the United States in general.
The survey of 6,000 International Travelers of Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia was conducted by the Market Research Company, the investigation medium from May 22 to June 10.
Almost half of the respondents said they had visited the United States at least once in the past.
Country differences
But despite their concerns, some respondents, particularly those of Vietnam (57%) and the Philippines (49%), said they are more interested in visiting the US. Uu. Now than six months ago.
That may have to do with the size of its diaspores in the United States, said Zilmiyah Kamble, a professor of hospitality and tourism management at James Cook University in Singapore. From 2024, it was estimated that the Filipinos were the fourth largest immigrants in the United States, and Vietnamese citizens were in number 8, according to the PEW Research Center.
“It could be due to family connections that live there,” Kamble said. But there is also “the suction factor and the soft power of American culture, through television programs, which is still very attractive.”
Filipina Pinky David spoke with CNBC’s trips from the United States, who said he frequently visits for work, family and vacations.
“I think most of the Filipinos, in general, still consider coming to the United States,” he said.
However, the survey showed that a nation showed little interest in setting foot on the American soil in the short term. About 55% of Singapurenses said they are less interested in visiting the United States than last November. Only 7% said they are now more interested in going, according to the data.
The survey also showed that Vietnamese respondents had the strongest reaction to tariffs announced by the Trump administration. In April 2025, Trump announced a 46% tariff on Vietnam imports, before reaching a commercial agreement on July 2 that reduced the amount of 20% for Vietnamese goods and 40% for goods sent to Vietnam from other countries for final shipping to the United States.
Negative buzz
The CNBC survey reflects a Yougov report published in March Which showed that since January 2025, the global “rumor” and the “impressions” of the United States as a travel destination have collapsed.
Buzz vs. Impressions
- Buzz: Listen to anything positive or negative about a destination
- Impressions: have a positive or negative impression of a destination
The impressions of the United States continued to fall in March, with net scores falling into a negative territory in Europe, the Middle East/Northern Africa and Canada and Mexico, according to Yougov data provided to CNBC.
However, the number of people who said they were considering the United States for their next international trip remained relatively stable, according to the Yougov report.
After the election of Donald Trump in November 2024, the interest in visiting the United States rose in several parts of the world, from the United and Indian Arab Emirates to Hong Kong and Poland, according to the report.
However, the interest in the visit fell into other places, including Singapore, Canada and North and Western Europe. In general, the global travel interest on trips to the USA. UU. It fell by 13%, according to the Yougov report.
Online feeling
The online feeling about traveling to the US also varies according to the country, according to the Social Sprout analysis company.
The company discovered that there were more than 87,000 mentions, and more than 1 million commitments, in the form of I like it, comments or shares, in X, YouTube, Tumblr and Reddit from April 30 to June 3 that discussed trips to the United States. Almost 50,000 were from Canada, of which 45% were negative, according to the data.
However, 96% of the 18,000 mentions and interactions that originated in India were positive or neutral, he showed.
Interestingly, the most negative feeling about US trips came from users in the US. Data showed.
