Next year marks several major milestones for US tourism, including co-hosting the FIFA World Cup with the US’s 250th birthday, Route 66 Centennial, and Canada and Mexico (marking that the first football event will be held in the US since 1994). But a drastic new bill could threaten voter turnout at these celebration events and disrupt the country’s wider tourism economy.
Last week, President Donald Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” included tax cuts and cuts on health programs like Medicaid, passing narrowly in the Senate in a 50-50 split. Vice President JD Vance’s tiebreaker vote sent the bill to the House of Representatives, and approved the measure a few days later. The law was signed on July 4, 2025.
Large-scale funding is being carried out for US tourism marketing
The travel industry is expected to feel the impact of the newly passed legislation almost immediately, starting with a massive cut in the country’s tourism marketing agency.
Under the new bill, brand USA, which promotes travel to international visitors in the US, will cut federal funds by 80%. Instead of $100 million in the market for international visitors, there is just $20 million to fulfill its mission to boost inbound travel to the country.
“Current cuts still require significant readjustment of resources and programming that must be decided. However, we are focusing on the rise in legal international inbound travel and the important boost we provide to the US economy.
However, several tourism and trade groups are wary of the impact of this significant cut in funds.
In an emailed statement to Afar, Rosanna Maietta, CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), which represents more than 30,000 properties nationwide, said the US still wants to “return to pre-pandemic travel levels,” making it “essential” for the country to continue to welcoming international tourists. “AHLA continues to strongly support Brand USA and encourages lawmakers to provide organizations with the budgets they need to make their important missions a success,” Maietta said.
In its 2024 Economic Impact Report, Brand USA said its marketing efforts have facilitated 1.6 million international visits, nearly $13 billion in economic impact, and helped 80,000 U.S. jobs.
Given the challenges facing inbound travel to the US, due to the combination of what is at stake and the decline in marketing efforts and policies that have prevented foreign arrivals, the Tourism Bureau is already adjusting and rethinking its strategies to encourage visits. In May, Visiting California launched the California Love Canada campaign to promote trips from California to Golden State as demand for north declined from neighbors representing the largest international visitors group in the United States.
And Brand USA recently announced its new marketing campaign, “America The Beautiful.” This was called by the company’s CEO Fred Dixon, “a clear message: the US is open to business and ready to welcome legitimate international travelers.” Speaking at the American Travel Association’s annual IPW conference last month in Chicago, Dixon said, “We are confident that this effort will spark new interest and deepen our connections with audiences around the world.”
The mission of courting branded USA’s global tourists and their coveted tourist dollars at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics on the Horizon is more important than ever. However, Dennis Schaal, founding and executive editor of Skift, a media outlet that covers the business side of global travel, is not convinced that it will be useful at this point as “the Trump administration is doing everything it can to discourage travel to the US.”
So, what does this mean for our based travelers? How will these reductions in tourism marketing spending and other policy changes in the bill affect domestic travel? Beyond cutting back on branded USA funding, here are some ways that changes enacted by one big beautiful bill law could have an impact on travel.
More expensive flights from Washington DC
According to Shall, travelers flying into the Washington, DC area may start seeing higher airfares if the airline doubles the amount they pay to lease Ronald Reagan and Dulles International Airports, if the bill doubles, then airlines raise prices.
Air traffic control upgrade
A spokesman for Airlines for America (A4A) said the bill would “have a positive impact on air travel” due to the investment in “overhauling our country’s air traffic control system.” In fact, Shear noted that approval of the bill’s improved air traffic control is expected to benefit travelers in the long term. He said $4.755 billion has been set aside for modernizing telecommunications infrastructure for much-needed upgrades.
Variable hotel rates and services
It remains to be seen how a decline in international visitors will affect hotel prices and hospitality staffing. Increased availability of hotels can lead to higher room rates to compensate for losses in revenue. He added, “It could lead to layoffs at hotels” in order to bid to fill empty rooms (hotels) for lower prices.
