On 8 January 2026, the San Francisco Standard reported an economic resurgence in San Francisco on numerous fronts since the coronavirus pandemic and accompanying quarantine. In general, circumstances in the City have indeed improved. Restaurants are seeing more traffic, and the selling and leasing of retail and office space has increased while crime, drug overdose,s and homeless encampments have decreased.
However, foreign travel to the United States – and the Bay Area, for that matter – has
diminished as a result of the Trump regime’s policies. For example, the tariffs have increased the cost of food and hotel supplies and soured foreign travelers’ opinions of the United States.
To be even more specific on the latter point, though a wide swath of international visits to the States come from Canada, the US Travel Association recorded a 23% drop therein as of October 2025, precipitating a $4 billion loss compared to the previous year as a result of Canadian tourists are boycotting travel to the U.S. in response to Trump's tariffs.
One San Francisco enterprise in particular affected by this boycott is the Painted Ladies Tour Company, which offers sightseeing excursions throughout the City in Volkswagen buses to small groups of travelers. According to co-owner Josh Armel, Canadian tourists made up the majority of Painted Ladies’ international customers.
The decline in international tourism to San Francisco has also inhibited the post-pandemic
recovery of Fisherman's Wharf. Although the iconic waterfront neighborhood attracted over 12.5 million people during 2024, this figure is well shy of its pre-pandemic average of 14 million to 16 million visitors per year.
While SFTravel.com predicts that in 2026, over 24 million people will visit San Francisco,
spending nearly $10 billion between them, and that hotel occupancy will reach 66.3 percent, the latter figure indicates a dip from the pre-pandemic occupancy rate of over 80 percent. Without a doubt, this shortfall owes to the absence of foreign visitors to San Francisco.
In addition, the deportation of foreign travelers' as unconstitutional punishment for merely criticizing President Trump via private correspondence not meant for the eyes of any law enforcement agents, along with the requirement that visitors to the United States disclose their social media history for the previous five years, have made the United States a risky destination even by the standards set by its own Department of State. Many of the countries whose visitors therefore must disclose their social media histories include the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, and Japan, all of which have been major driving forces in the U.S. tourism Economy.
Reuters.com reports that in 2025, the United States overall saw a 6% drop in foreign visitors as many foreign travelers understandably decided to avoid the Trump regime’s hostile immigration policies. This account also notes that travelers from Mexico and other Latin American countries are making fewer trips to the United States and are opting for shorter stays if and when they do. Surmisingly, these particular travelers are averse to being harassed, detained, and deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
According to Forbes magazine, the U.S. economy will lose tens of billions of dollars due to foreign travelers avoiding the United States. Although two-thirds of overnight visitors to San Francisco travel from within the boundaries of the United States, foreign visitors tend to stay longer and spend more money. As such, while the City is on a path to recovery, the lack of revenue as a result of foreign travelers understandably avoiding the United States altogether will pose a considerable stumbling block.
