Foreign tourism to NYC expected to see ‘devastating’ $4B drop this year according to industry experts

For foreign tourists, the shine is coming off the Big Apple.

Some 2 million fewer visitors from other countries are expected to make the trip to New York City this year, which could cost New York City $4 billion in foreign tourism dollars for 2025, a major industry group said.

The drop — which could be as much as 14% — will have a brutal affect on the New York economy, as foreign tourists usually spend big, according to NYC Tourism + Conventions, which did the study.

“Although international visitors make up 20% of total visitation, they account for approximately 50% of all visitor spending, making them essential to New York City’s economy,” group CEO Julie Coker said in a statement.

“Combined, this downward revision represents an estimated loss of over $4 billion in direct spending.”

Big Apple businesses that usually cater to floods of tourists told The Post they are already seeing things slow to a trickle — which is a major disappointment after NYC Tourism + Conventions announced a “full recovery” for NYC tourism from the effects of COVID-19 in 2024.

They blame a variety of causes for the drop, including the United States’ new positions on foreign policy and tariffs, especially the new attitude toward Canada.

“There is an absolute real-world decline in tourism and revenue due to Trump’s tariffs, and aggressive posting towards our friendly northern neighbors,” said tour guide operator Matt Levy of Spread Love Tours, who told The Post he is now “belt tightening” and seeking to take on “luxury” clientele to make up for losses.

Levy, whose company caters to a “significant number of student travel groups from Canada,” was slammed with a staggering 85% drop in revenue from Canadian visitors this year, he said — effectively wiping out a national demographic that makes up 30% of his total revenue.

“For 2026, I would bet hard money it will go to zero [dollars from Canada],” Levy said, noting all of his Canadian revenue from 2025 came from groups that put their deposit down pre-election.

“The kids, the parents want to go, but the school boards are saying, ‘Why are we going to go spend money to generate taxes in a country where the president hates us?’” he continued. “‘Rather, we can spend money and generate taxes in our own nation.’”

K. Krombie, a tour guide who operates Purefinder New York tours like “Death in New York” and “Central Park: Scandal and Vice,” told The Post she has seen a “drop in revenue.”

“I think a lot of it is based around politics,” she said. “I think some of it is a defiant boycott, and a lot of it is financial, because of the global effects of the tariffs. People are like, ‘well, we can go somewhere else to spend our money.’ . . . It’s devastating, and utterly noticeable, but it’s one of those things that you only really can study in hindsight.”

Lori Pickhardt, New York City Manager of Tours By Foot, said there was one hope for city tourism.

“We are hopeful the fall of the US dollar entices people to take advantage of travel to the US, but we are not expecting things to pick up for the next 3.5 years since there seems to be no sense of concern in the United States about the impact on small American businesses or the American consumer.”

Christina Hansen, the spokesperson for Central Park’s horse carriage drivers, said the union is missing “a lot of our customer base, which is the UK, Canada, Ireland and Australia.

“But I think domestic tourism is down too . . . because of economic chaos, air travel issues and [a] perceived terror threat due to foreign policy decisions.”

Even a manager at a Midtown Applebee’s, who declined to provide his name, told The Post his business is down at his location by more than 20% since last year – and blames dwindling tourism numbers for it.

A Hard Rock Café worker similarly lamented: “I don’t think it’s been the same since last year.”

Still, NYC Tourism said that it will continue its global marketing campaign “with focused outreach across Canada, Mexico, the UK and Western Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia Pacific. 

“Our welcoming spirit will not waver,” Coker added, “and global travelers have an open invitation to visit the one and only New York City when they’re ready.”