The participants walk in the seventh annual march of the queer liberation of the Liberation of the Reclaim Pride coalition in New York on June 29, 2025.
Erik McGregor | Lightrocket | Getty images
Canadian citizen Robert Sharp planned to visit Provincetown, Massachusetts – One of the most LGBTQ + places in America – for the marking birthday of his friend in July.
But in a context of current trade tensions launched by President Donald Trump’s pricing policies and the increase in anti-LGBTQ + rhetoric and policies in the United States, he said that his plans had changed.
“Do we want to have this stress before going on vacation? Or do we want to support our own country?” Said Sharp.
The group with which he planned to travel decided to cancel the trip and rather visit Montreal, he said.
Sharp and his partner also planned to visit Chicago or Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for a separate trip this year, but they moved their plans to a Canadian road trip between Calgary and Vancouver.
“We were hardly affected in Canada with prices and there was a real feeling of patriotism here. So we finally decided to explore our own country, and make a road trip in the Rockies and spend money in Canada to help our economy,” said Sharp.
The change of Sharp’s plans reflects a broader trend of international travelers rethinking where they spend their travel budgets and retreat during visits to the United States
The number of foreign visitors to the United States by Air fell 10% in March compared to the year before, according to the International Trade Administration, part of the Commerce Department. Including terrestrial level crossings, incoming visitors from the United States have dropped 14% in March since the same period of last year, according to the Industry Group.
Oxford Economics estimates that spending on international visitors to the United States will drop $ 8.5 billion this year, as negative perceptions of the United States linked to trade and immigration policy lead travelers to other destinations.
Among the LGBTQ + population, reservations for accommodation housing adapted to the United States on the LGBTQ + Misterb & B travel platform experienced a 66% drop among Canadian users and a 32% drop among European users from February to April, compared to the same period last year.
The company said that it had a 22% increase in reservations in the Blue States and a 9% drop in red states during this period. He has also experienced decreases in the cities of the red states, notably Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Austin, Texas.
Misterb & B CEO, Matthieu Jost said that global reservations on the platform are not broken down worldwide but increases. Jost said LGBTQ + individuals seem to continue spending on vacation, but they change their destinations.
The company said the majority of users of Misterb & B that he interviewed this year said they used their travel budget as a form of activism – supporting the destinations and inclusive savings.
Participants, including the president of Glide, Gina Frommer, center, ride in the San Francisco Pride 2025 parade in San Francisco, June 29, 2025.
Arun Nevader | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty images
The Arc-en-Ciel dollar
Sharp, who has lgbtq friendly travel adventures, is not the only one to change his travel plans.
In February, the LGBTQ + Egale Canada advocacy group published a statement saying that its members would not participate in person in conferences or events that occur in the United States this year, including WorldPride, which took place in the early month in Washington, DC
The decision was mainly made to protect the safety of individuals, said Helen Kennedy, executive director of Egale Canada.
In his second mandate, Trump has signed several decrees to target transgender people, in particular by preventing them from serving openly in the army and trying to keep the transgender athletes outside the sports of girls and women.
Another decree, which indicates that the federal government recognizes only two sexes, men and women, has prompted several countries, including Denmark, Finland and Germany, to issue official warnings to LGBTQ + travelers visiting the United States, in particular transgender travelers. Canada has also updated its travel advice with specific opinions for people with a “X” genre listed on their passports.
Kennedy said another reason for the decision not to go to the United States was to repel what it considers an “economic war” from the United States to Canada.
“People talk about Canada and the United States with a long history of being incredible neighbors. And yes, we do, but this is based on economic interests most of the time,” said Kennedy. “When you put this human element with the economic element, then you think, well, ok, why are I going to go?”
Kennedy said that Egale Canada members who are involved in non -governmental organizations would normally spend $ 3,000 to $ 5,000 per person during a trip to attend a conference or an event. Business travelers generally spend at least $ 5,000, she said.
“We have a good part of change in hotels,” she said. “We make excursions, we rent bikes, we do all the things that everyone does.”
The LGBTQ + travel market is important. The purchasing power of LGBTQ + consumers overall is estimated at 1.4 dollars, according to a study in 2022 of the Pride Co-OP market company.
In 2023, the global size of the LGBTQ + tourism market was $ 296.8 billion, and it should double in 10 years, reaching $ 634.9 billion in 2033, according to Market.us.
The search for Arival Travel shows that LGBTQ + travelers are more likely to be easy, with household income of more than $ 150,000 compared to other travelers.
When you travel, LGBTQ people reserve more activities and visits and spend more of this experiences than other populations, ARIVAL research revealed.
John Tanzella, CEO of the International LGBTQ + Travel Association, said that his organization already felt a decline in LGBTQ + international travel in the United States, he said he had heard hesitations of international members about participation in the World Organization Convention in October in Palm Springs, California.
“They don’t feel welcome here, so why come and spend their money here?” Said Tanzella.
“On the surface, this affects airlines and hotels. But if you dig a little more deeply, this affects other companies, whether hair salons or restaurants, bars, spas. Many communities are counting on tourists to come and spend their money,” he added.
The pride flags are seen in the parade of the pride of the Pier boats, which is part of the World Pride Festival, at DC Wharf in Washington, on June 6, 2025.
Kayla Bartkowski | Getty images
Pride celebrations continue
Despite the concerns of decreasing the visits to LGBTQ + international travelers, as well as certain declines in corporate sponsorships for pride celebrations, pride organizations in the United States have declared that attendance was strong during the events of the month of pride, many of which take place on the last weekend of June.
But many organizations have said it was still too early to get official or difficult to estimate presence numbers, given that many pride celebrations are not styled and open to the public.
Matt şenız-Cheng, associate director of partnerships for NYC Pride, said that attending its pride events last weekend should total 2.5 million-in accordance with its typical figures.
He said NYC Pride had lost about 25% of its corporate sponsorships initially this year, due to the economy, prices and decline surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion. But he estimated that the number of people and contingents participating in this year’s pride will be larger than in previous years.
Ryan Bos, executive director of the Pride Alliance Capital, who directed Worldpride this year, said that the organizers were “pleasantly surprised” that people have always presented themselves with regard to the concerns about the Trump administration policies.
Bos said he had heard calls to cancel the event this year due to political tensions in Washington, he said.
“If we were to retreat, what message would he have sent to all the other pride who also know similar challenges?” Said bos.
Although WorldPride does not yet have official figures, BOS said that he thought that attendance was strong. However, Tanzella, of the LGBTQ International + Travel Association, said he had heard that figures for Worldpride were broken this year.
The cities of the red states also continued their pride celebrations.
Attendance increased from around 28,000 last year to 33,000 this year at the annual Arcs-en-Ciel festival in Phoenix Pride in April, executive director Michael Fornelli said in a press release. It is parade will be celebrated in October due to summer heat.
In Salt Lake City, SLC Pride estimated its celebration last weekend brought 17,000 participants, more than the 10,000 that it saw last year, according to Bonnie O’Brien, director of the festival.
“We are in a small blue bubble here in Salt Lake,” said O’Brien. “We do not expect people to come from major cities or foreign countries. But will we get people from Wyoming? Yes. Are we going to get people from Rural Utah or Rural Idaho? Yes.”
“It is not a question of traveling. It is not a question of red or blue,” she said. “This is the closest place they can find a community. And that they know that they are safe, but just for a weekend.”