Tens of millions of vacationers may skip visiting the US if proposed social media coverage is applied, business specialists warn

Ahead of a proposed rule change that might require social media account data from some international vacationers to the United States, worldwide journey specialists are saying the coverage may additional deter guests from coming to the US — a decline that might translate into billions of {dollars} in misplaced income for the journey sector.

The warning — from the World Travel & Tourism Council — comes after the worldwide business group surveyed almost 5,000 worldwide residents who commonly journey overseas and located one-third of respondents could be considerably or a lot much less more likely to go to the US if candidates to the Visa Waiver Program are required to submit details about their social media accounts.

The potential decline in vacationers may price the US an estimated $15.7 billion in misplaced customer spending, in accordance with WTTC. Under one situation, the US may miss out on as many as 4.7 million worldwide arrivals, which might characterize a 23% drop in guests from ESTA international locations in 2026.

Gloria Guevara, president of WTTC, instructed CNN the proposed change may price the US greater than 150,000 jobs and “put the US at a competitive disadvantage.”

The vacationers affected produce other vacation spot choices, she stated in an interview on CNN International’s “Quest Means Business,” and so they think about the request for social media account data “intrusive.”

“There are so many places to travel, and the ESTA travelers will choose another destination,” she stated. “We will see a decline and the decline is translated into jobs.”

Last yr was a banner yr in journey globally, she famous; international locations all world wide noticed will increase within the variety of guests.

“That was not the case for the US,” she stated.

Two-thirds of the 4,563 vacationers surveyed – who hail from Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom, amongst different international locations – stated they have been conscious of the proposed coverage already. And a big share of them stated it will make the US really feel much less welcoming and fewer enticing for each leisure and enterprise journey, in accordance with the WTTC survey outcomes.

The proposed rule change, which was posted final yr on the Federal Register by US Customs and Border Protection, would have an effect on vacationers utilizing the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, as a part of a Visa Waiver Program for residents from greater than three dozen international locations that embrace England, Australia, Japan, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Chile and Qatar.

ESTA is an internet utility that grants guests from the 42 eligible international locations the precise to go to the US for below 90 days with out a visa. Currently guests who use ESTA are requested to produce data resembling passport numbers, start dates and prior prison exercise.

According to the proposal within the Federal Register, the brand new coverage could be in accordance with one in every of President Trump’s govt orders aimed toward defending the US from international terrorists and lowering public security threats.

It’s unclear precisely what social media data could be required or how the data collected would impression vacationers who wish to come to the US. The Federal Register posting says ESTA candidates would wish to offer “social media from the last 5 years.”

A query requesting social media data was initially added to the applying in 2016, with the part marked as “optional.” The data could be necessary below the brand new proposal.

CNN Travel has requested extra data from CBP.

But in accordance with the Greater Miami and the Beaches Hotel Association, authorities officers have instructed them privately guests would wish to offer account names or handles however wouldn’t be required to offer entry to accounts or particular posts and the CBP wouldn’t overview each applicant’s social media exercise.

“CBP has been explicit that social media accounts would not be reviewed for comments, posts or activity critical of President Trump or other political leaders. Under the proposal, CBP would collect usernames solely to check them against classified information the government already has,” the affiliation stated in a post on its blog this month.

The coverage, nonetheless, stays of nice concern for the affiliation, which famous Miami might be one of many hosts of the FIFA World Cup.

“Our success depends on the ease, and perception of ease, of international travel,” stated the resort affiliation.

In a separate transfer, the State Department has already instructed embassies and consulates that they might scrutinize scholar visa candidates for “hostile attitudes towards our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles.”

According to these pointers, candidates are required to make their profiles public, and lack of an internet social media historical past could possibly be seen as a unfavourable issue that might depend towards them within the utility course of.

The new proposal — which might be open for public remark till February 9 – looms because the US is already seeing a drop in worldwide guests, which may have a chilling impact on marquee occasions this yr resembling America’s 250th birthday celebration and the World Cup video games in soccer.

The U.S. Travel Association reported a 3.5% decline in inbound abroad journey in November in contrast with November 2024, which was in line with statistics from the entire second half of 2025. Travel from Canada is down double digits, the group famous, though Canada wouldn’t be affected by the proposed rule change.

In a press release launched final yr, officers with U.S. Travel stated the proposed coverage for ESTA candidates was worrisome, significantly with out extra data from the CBP in regards to the rule change.

“There are legitimate questions from travelers about what information they might need to provide, and from security experts as to whether this policy would meaningfully increase America’s security,” the group’s assertion learn. “One thing that isn’t in question: this policy could have a chilling effect on travel to the United States.”

The proposed adjustments to the visa waiver utility would additionally embrace including fields for candidates to offer telephone numbers used over the previous 5 years and electronic mail addresses used over a 10-year interval, plus contact data for shut members of the family, together with their birthplaces, residences and telephone numbers over the prior 5 years.

Since taking workplace, the Trump administration has made sweeping adjustments to almost each aspect of the immigration course of, tightening each authorized and unlawful type of entry into the United States.

And it’s created concern for these within the journey sector that worldwide guests will go elsewhere.

“Visa Waiver Program travelers come here to do deals with American businesses, buy American products and experience the beauty of our great nation,” the U.S. Travel Association stated in a press release. “If we get this policy wrong, millions of travelers could take their business and the billions of dollars they spend elsewhere, only making America weaker.”