Vacation yes, but not in Trump's America. European tourists are cancelling trips to the US, increasingly opting for Canada or Mexico

"When I saw that meeting, I told myself I would never visit the United States as long as President Trump was there," Brask said. He added that Trump was "so reckless " and did not behave like an adult.

Instead of Florida, Brask decided to head to Mexico. He thus became one of many Danes, Germans and other Europeans who are rethinking their travel plans as a result of Trump's policies, according to data from five travel agencies operating across Europe, according to Reuters.

Controversial moves

In just two months, the U.S. president has undermined a longstanding U.S. alliance with Europe, proposed the annexation of Greenland, launched a global trade war and issued an executive order involving tighter border security, visa policies and action against undocumented migrants staying in the United States, Reuters reports.

In 2023, Europeans spent roughly $155 billion on trips to the U.S., according to European Union data. Travel across the Atlantic has also boosted profits for airlines such as British Airways in recent quarters, Reuters notes.

According to preliminary data from the US National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO), the number of visitors to the United States from Western Europe fell by one per cent year-on-year in February this year, compared with a 14 per cent year-on-year increase in February last year.

The Danes are particularly sensitive to Trump's statements regarding the annexation of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark. Danish citizen Kim Kugel Sorenson told Reuters that he cancelled a trip to California for a family friend's wedding and had the stars and stripes removed from his tattoo to avoid appearing pro-American.

The number of Danes arriving in the U.S. fell six percent in February after a seven percent increase a year earlier, according to NTTO data.

Searches for tours to the U.S. also declined, according to European travel agents and companies tracking travel data. This has forced travel agents to focus on advertising other destinations, Reuters reports.

"We made the decision not to spend a cent on promoting tours to the US due to the lack of response from clients and the current situation around Denmark and Greenland," said Steen Albrechtsen, product manager at travel agency Albatros Travel in Copenhagen.

The biggest impact is the political turmoil

Europeans could also be deterred from visiting the US by a stronger dollar and weak growth in the European economy, but political turmoil has the biggest impact, according to travel agents.

Searches for flights to the US have fallen sharply this month in France, Italy and Spain, while demand in Britain remains strong, according to the head of travel data provider Data Appeal Company, Mirko Lalli.

Germans are now showing more interest in Canada as an alternative to the United States, according to local travel agent America Unlimited. Some Europeans see the visit to Canada as a show of solidarity in response to Trump's remarks that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state, Reuters reports.

Canada's boom

"Canada is experiencing an unprecedented boom," said Timo Kohlenberg, head of America Unlimited. Many Canadians, in turn, could travel to Europe this summer instead of the United States. According to analyst firm Key Data, Canadian bookings for European vacation properties for June to August saw a 32 per cent year-over-year increase.

Some European tour operators, such as TUI, continue to expect solid interest in travel to the U.S. "We expect the number of Germans vacationing in the U.S. to increase compared to 2024," a TUI spokesman told Reuters.

However, according to the NTTO, the number of Germans arriving in the US this February was down nine per cent year-on-year after an 18 per cent increase in February last year.