MADRID, Spain: Global tourism continued to expand in 2025, but the United States moved against the trend, recording fewer foreign visitors even as travelers worldwide spent more and travelled more often, industry data showed.

The U.S. saw a six percent decline in foreign visitors last year, according to figures released by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The drop came as global tourism spending climbed 6.7 percent from the previous year, despite concerns about overcrowding in popular destinations.

More than 1.5 billion tourists worldwide spent a combined US$11.7 trillion on hotels, cruises, and flights in 2025, the WTTC said. Tourism accounted for 10.3 percent of global gross domestic product, with spending growing at roughly twice the pace of the broader global economy.

Shifts in travel preferences and policy concerns helped divert visitors away from the United States, particularly toward destinations in Europe and Asia, said WTTC interim President and CEO Gloria Guevara.

With people, especially younger travelers, taking more frequent trips, concerns about U.S. anti-immigration policies led tourists to European countries such as Spain and France, as well as to Japan, Guevara said in an interview in Madrid.

Latin American visitors, including Colombians and Mexicans, travelled less to the United States, she said, adding that Mexicans who did visit tended to take shorter trips.

As foreign arrivals fell, the world's third-most-visited country also saw spending by overseas tourists drop by about seven percent, reflecting declines in visitors from Canada, Mexico, and Europe, according to WTTC estimates. That fall was offset by domestic travel spending, however, leaving the United States the world's most extensive travel and tourism economy overall.

Globally, the tourism sector has continued to expand despite protests and resistance from residents in some heavily visited destinations, Guevara said.

"We have not seen the impact of overtourism, and the best example is precisely where overtourism has been generated, particularly in Europe and Japan, where we are seeing another record," she said.

The WTTC forecasts that global tourism will grow by a further 4.5 percent in 2026, again outpacing global economic growth.

Europe remained the world's top draw for travelers last year. France welcomed an estimated 105 million visitors in 2025, while Spain received more than 96.5 million tourists, according to WTTC figures. Both far exceeded the roughly 68 million foreign visitors recorded by the United States.