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Comment by Havoc | Hacker News Reader

Between this, the forced social media disclosure, the alleged entry denials for memes and the detaining of people I'm just not going to go to travel to the USA anymore.

For that level of risk I'd rather go see Shenzhen frankly.

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A friend asked me to visit them in the states, there is no way I’m going currently - hopefully at some point in the future. I’ve had fun there in the past under Republican administrations - so this isn’t a blue/red thing - it just doesn’t appear safe to cross the boarder right now.

Land of the free?

Yes, it was a sad moment, years ago now, the day I realized that I'd likely never travel to China. Sadder still to acknowledge I'd feel safer doing so than entering the modern US.

It's not just you. Tourism to the US from Canada and Europe is declining. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/america-only-country-rep...

I wonder if US tourism is down. We avoided it for travel due to the current situation.

Massively, yes.

So far, there isn't enough data to say.

Forecasts apparently still show an increase in international visitors overall (unsure of the split between tourists and business visits).

But, May numbers appear to be down about 7% compared to May 2024.

Anecdotally it is, but I wondered if I could find supporting statistics. I live near Yellowstone NP which has a fair proportion of non-US visitors based on my personal observations (perhaps 25%). Stats are collected on a monthly basis. July is the most recent month with full data (obviously). Report URL below.

The report says the visit count (MAU?) in July is down 18% vs last year. Since I can't think of any local issue (fire, flood, weather...) that would have had an affect on visitor count this year vs last, that seems quite a large change. Especially when the fact that only a proportion of visitors are not from the US.

https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Rep...

It is. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/america-only-country-rep...

It is, but it is always hard to figure out causes as there are other economic indicators and any one could also be the cause of tourism being down. Not to mention random changes in what people do. Statisticians can dig through this data and way what is signal, but so far I've only seem people quoting absolute numbers and stating whatever cause fits their pet beliefs.

Yes it is. At least in NYC. I'm including multiple links to the data, lest folks try to claim it's some sort of TDS[0] fueled plot against our beloved and incredibly popular leader.

https://nypost.com/2025/07/25/us-news/foreign-tourism-to-nyc...

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/nyc-will-see-a-17-perce...

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/nyregion/nyc-tourism.html

https://vinnews.com/2025/07/25/foreign-tourism-to-nyc-faces-...

https://columbianewsservice.com/2025/06/04/new-york-city-see...

https://tjvnews.com/local/new-york/new-york-city-faces-4-bil...

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_derangement_syndrome

What would happen if a person tried to enter the United States at the border but were not carrying a phone or a laptop? Do they frown on this?

Would probably look suspicious but doubt they could do much more than grill you about it a bit

>Would probably look suspicious but doubt they could do much more than grill you about it a bit

And if they don't like your answers, they can detain you without charge indefinitely and then deport you -- and not necessarily to your home country.

It's a bad idea to come to the US -- for any reason -- at this time.

N.B.: I say that as an American living in the US. What's more, my father was an immigrant (who never became a citizen) and my mother's parents were also immigrants. As such, were it not for immigration, I would not exist as my parents met here in the US. Please don't come here. It breaks my heart to say it, but it isn't safe for you.

To clarify, my admonition not to visit the US wasn't a warning from a xenophobe promising harm to foreigners.

Rather it was an earnest concern for the health and well-being of fellow humans given the harsh, punitive and cruel tactics being used on people by my government.

If and when we stop treating visitors like criminals, I will once again heartily recommend that folks come and visit the US. It's an amazing place with all sorts of fabulous places, things and people. And despite the loudest and nastiest among us, most Americans are kind and decent people.

But that time is not now. And more's the pity.

Same. No interest in going to that country. We'll continue travel in Canada or throughout Europe as we have over the last year and a bit. We used to go to the US to camp and on family vacations in the winter, but we skipped that last year and this year and have no plans to visit unless the situation changes.

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