Contributors march within the Reclaim Delight Coalition’s seventh annual Queer Liberation March in New York, June 29, 2025.
Erik McGregor | Lightrocket | Getty Photographs
Canadian citizen Robert Sharp was planning to go to Provincetown, Massachusetts — one of the crucial LGBTQ+-friendly locations in America — for his buddy’s milestone birthday in July.
However towards a backdrop of ongoing commerce tensions sparked by President Donald Trump’s tariff insurance policies and growing anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and insurance policies within the U.S., he stated his plans modified.
“Will we need to have that stress earlier than happening trip? Or can we need to help our personal nation?” Sharp stated.
The group he was planning to journey with determined to cancel the journey and can as an alternative go to Montreal, he stated.
Sharp and his companion had been additionally planning to go to Chicago or Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for a separate journey this yr, however they shifted their plans to a Canadian street journey between Calgary and Vancouver.
“We have been hit arduous in Canada with tariffs and there is been an actual sense of patriotism up right here. So, we in the end determined to discover our personal nation, and do a street journey to the Rockies and spend cash inside Canada to assist our financial system,” Sharp stated.
Sharp’s change in plans displays a bigger development of worldwide vacationers rethinking the place they’re spending their journey budgets and pulling again on visits to the U.S.
The variety of overseas guests to the U.S. by air dropped 10% in March from a yr prior, in keeping with the Worldwide Commerce Administration, a part of the Commerce Division. Together with land border crossings, inbound guests to the U.S. fell 14% in March from the identical interval final yr, in keeping with the trade group.
Oxford Economics estimates spending amongst worldwide guests to the U.S. will fall $8.5 billion this yr, as destructive perceptions of the U.S. tied to commerce and immigration coverage lead vacationers to different locations.
Among the many LGBTQ+ inhabitants, bookings for queer-friendly housing lodging within the U.S. on the LGBTQ+ journey platform misterb&b noticed a 66% decline amongst Canadian customers and a 32% decline amongst European customers from February to April, in contrast with the identical interval final yr.
The corporate stated it had a 22% improve in bookings in blue states and a 9% decline in crimson states throughout that point interval. It additionally noticed declines in cities inside crimson states together with Salt Lake Metropolis, Phoenix, and Austin, Texas.
Misterb&b CEO Matthieu Jost stated total bookings on the platform are usually not down globally however are growing. Jost stated LGBTQ+ people seem like persevering with to spend on holidays, however they’re altering their locations.
The corporate stated the vast majority of misterb&b customers it surveyed this yr stated they use their journey funds as a type of activism — supporting inclusive locations and economies.
Contributors together with GLIDE President Gina Fromer, middle, experience within the 2025 San Francisco Delight Parade in San Francisco, June 29, 2025.
Arun Nevader | Getty Photographs Leisure | Getty Photographs
The rainbow greenback
Sharp, who owns LGBTQ-friendly journey firm Out Adventures, just isn’t alone in altering his journey plans.
In February, the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Egale Canada issued a press release saying its members wouldn’t take part in particular person at conferences or occasions taking place within the U.S. this yr, together with WorldPride, which occurred initially of June in Washington, D.C.
The choice was made primarily to guard people’ security, stated Helen Kennedy, govt director of Egale Canada.
In his second time period, Trump has signed a number of govt orders concentrating on transgender individuals, together with stopping them from serving brazenly within the navy and attempting to maintain transgender athletes out of women’ and ladies’s sports activities.
One other govt order, which says the federal authorities acknowledges solely two sexes, female and male, prompted a number of nations, together with Denmark, Finland and Germany, to situation official cautions for LGBTQ+ vacationers visiting the U.S., notably transgender vacationers. Canada has additionally up to date its journey steerage with particular advisories for individuals with an “X” gender listed on their passports.
Kennedy stated one more reason for the choice to not journey to the U.S. was to push again on what she views as “financial warfare” from the U.S. towards Canada.
“Folks discuss Canada and the U.S. having an extended historical past of being unbelievable neighbors. And sure, we do, however that is based mostly on financial pursuits numerous the time,” Kennedy stated. “If you put that human component with the financial component, you then suppose, effectively, OK, why would I’m going there?”
Kennedy stated members of Egale Canada who’re concerned in nongovernmental organizations would usually spend wherever from $3,000 to $5,000 per particular person throughout a visit to attend a convention or occasion. Company vacationers normally spend at the least $5,000, she estimated.
“We do spend a good chunk of change in lodges,” she stated. “We do excursions, we lease bikes, we do all the issues that everyone else does.”
The LGBTQ+ journey market is important. The buying energy of LGBTQ+ customers total is estimated to be $1.4 trillion, in keeping with a 2022 examine by the market analysis agency Delight Co-Op.
In 2023, the worldwide LGBTQ+ tourism market dimension was $296.8 billion, and it is anticipated to greater than double in 10 years, reaching $634.9 billion in 2033, in keeping with Market.US.
Analysis from Arival Journey exhibits that LGBTQ+ vacationers usually tend to be prosperous, with a family earnings of over $150,000, in contrast with different vacationers.
When touring, LGBTQ people e-book extra actions and excursions and spend extra on these experiences than different populations, the Arival analysis discovered.
John Tanzella, CEO of the Worldwide LGBTQ+ Journey Affiliation, stated his group is already sensing a pullback in worldwide LGBTQ+ journey to the U.S. He stated he has heard hesitations from worldwide members about attending the group’s world conference in October in Palm Springs, California.
“They do not really feel welcome right here, so why come and spend their cash right here?” Tanzella stated.
“On the floor, it impacts airways and lodges. However in the event you dig a bit deeper it does have an effect on different companies, whether or not it is barber retailers or eating places, bars, spas. Numerous communities depend on vacationers to return in and spend their cash,” he added.
Delight flags are seen on the Delight on the Pier boat parade, a part of the World Delight pageant, on the DC Wharf in Washington, June 6, 2025.
Kayla Bartkowski | Getty Photographs
Delight celebrations keep it up
Regardless of considerations of waning visits from worldwide LGBTQ+ vacationers, in addition to some pullbacks in company sponsorships for Delight celebrations, Delight organizations throughout the U.S. stated attendance was robust at Delight Month occasions, lots of which happen on the final weekend of June.
However many organizations stated it is nonetheless too quickly to get official attendance numbers or troublesome to estimate, on condition that many Delight celebrations are non-ticketed and open to the general public.
Matt Şenız-Cheng, affiliate director of partnerships for NYC Delight, stated attendance for its Delight occasions final weekend is predicted to complete 2.5 million — in keeping with its typical numbers.
He stated NYC Delight misplaced roughly 25% of its company sponsorships initially this yr, as a result of financial system, tariffs and pullback surrounding range, fairness and inclusion. However he estimated the variety of individuals and contingents taking part within the Delight march this yr will likely be larger than in earlier years.
Ryan Bos, govt director for the Capital Delight Alliance, which ran WorldPride this yr, stated organizers had been “pleasantly stunned” that folks nonetheless confirmed up amid considerations in regards to the Trump administration’s insurance policies.
Bos stated he had heard calls to cancel the occasion this yr as a consequence of political tensions in Washington, he stated.
“If we had been to retreat, what message would which have despatched to all the opposite Prides who’re additionally experiencing comparable challenges?” Bos stated.
Whereas WorldPride does not have official attendance numbers but, Bos stated he believes attendance was robust. Nevertheless, Tanzella, of the Worldwide LGBTQ+ Journey Affiliation, stated he heard numbers for WorldPride had been down this yr.
Cities in crimson states have additionally continued on with their satisfaction celebrations.
Attendance rose from about 28,000 final yr to 33,000 this yr at Phoenix Delight’s annual Rainbows Competition in April, Government Director Michael Fornelli instructed CNBC in a press release. Its satisfaction parade will likely be celebrated in October as a result of summer season warmth.
In Salt Lake Metropolis, SLC Delight estimated its celebration final weekend introduced in 17,000 attendees, greater than the ten,000 it noticed final yr, in keeping with Bonnie O’Brien, pageant director.
“We’re in a bit little bit of a blue bubble right here in Salt Lake,” O’Brien stated. “We’re not anticipating individuals to return from massive, massive cities or overseas nations. However will we get individuals from Wyoming? Sure. Will we get individuals from rural Utah or rural Idaho? Sure.”
“It isn’t about journey. It isn’t about crimson or blue,” she stated. “It is in regards to the closest place that they’ll discover group. And that they know that they are protected, if only for a weekend.”
