The number of tourists visiting New York City increased slightly last year, but fewer of those visitors came from other countries — part of a decline in international tourism seen across the United States since President Trump returned to office.
The total number of visitors rose to 65 million people last year, up less than 1 percent over the year before, the city’s tourism agency announced on Tuesday. But the number of international visitors fell to 12.5 million people, a decrease of more than 3 percent since 2024.
The drop mirrors a national trend since the start of Mr. Trump’s second term, which has included combative foreign policy moves. The president has declared a trade war on allies, mused about annexing other countries, barred visitors from more than a dozen countries from entering the United States and ramped up an immigration crackdown, prompting some visitors to stay away.
Still, tourism officials in New York tried to sound upbeat, arguing that visits to the city should tick up this year, driven in part by the FIFA World Cup, which will hold weeks of matches in New Jersey and related events in New York this summer.
“In 2025, New York City’s tourism economy proved resilient despite global challenges, underscoring the enduring appeal of the five boroughs,” said Julie Coker, president of New York City Tourism and Conventions, the city’s tourism agency.
Tourism in New York City has not yet rebounded to prepandemic levels. The city had 66.6 million visitors in 2019, a number that dropped to 22.3 million in 2020, when Covid arrived.
The tourism industry was still recovering when Mr. Trump took office last January. As tourism increased worldwide in 2025, the United States was the only major destination to see a drop in foreign visitors.
Responding to a question last year about that decline, Mr. Trump said, “It’s not a big deal.”
The war in the Middle East and concerns over aviation safety, including a plane crash that killed two people in New York on Sunday, could further complicate tourism.
Ms. Coker said that the city would monitor “how long the Iran conflict lasts” to determine whether it would have a major impact on business and international travel.
She also said that diversity and inclusion were part of the “DNA of New York City,” noting that it was home to the Statue of Liberty, which she called a “symbol of welcoming.”
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“None of that has changed despite the headlines and some of the rhetoric in Washington,” she said.
Tourism is a vital pillar of New York City’s economy, and it generated $55.6 billion in direct spending last year, the tourism agency said.
Last year’s drop in international visitors was not as steep as officials had predicted when they revised their forecast in May.
And officials said that domestic travel remained strong last year, with 52.4 million tourists from elsewhere in the country coming to New York City. The top five sources of visitors included the region surrounding New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Boston.
While international tourism was down, the United Kingdom and Mexico sent more visitors to New York City. Visitors from Italy increased by more than 5 percent, the tourism agency said.
But there were significant declines in tourism to the United States from Germany and France. In January, Germany updated its travel advisory for the United States, warning of increased risks from political violence, demonstrations and immigration enforcement.
Visitors from Canada, usually the second-largest source of U.S. tourism after Mexico, have plunged.
Anna Abelson, an adjunct professor at the Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality at New York University, said that Mr. Trump’s policies had made tourists from Canada and Western Europe feel less welcome.
“They’re looking at the U.S. differently now,” she said.
Ms. Abelson said that the decline in international visitors had an outsize economic impact because they tend to spend more than domestic travelers.
Foreign tourists “view going to New York as a bucket list experience,” she said. “They tend to spend on more luxury accommodations and to buy premium Broadway tickets in advance.”
Tourism officials predicted that 66.3 million visitors would travel to New York City this year, including 1.2 million visitors expected in the region for the World Cup. The matches will be played from mid-June to mid-July at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., but New York is expected to benefit from a surge in tourism and related events.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, an avid soccer fan, has sought to highlight the World Cup and named a “World Cup czar” to oversee planning.
The city has also been promoting events to honor the nation’s 250th anniversary this year and the 400th anniversary of New York City’s founding, including a tour of places connected to the life of Alexander Hamilton.
Emma G. Fitzsimmons is a public policy correspondent for The Times, covering New York City.
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