Sharp Decline in U.S. Business Travel: Visa Entries Down 9% in April

The business travel industry in the United States took a significant hit last month as the number of foreign citizens entering the country for work fell sharply, with business and workers being put off by the Trump Administration’s tariff threats and aggressive immigration policies, compounded by rising economic uncertainty.

According to preliminary figures released by the National Travel and Tourism Office on Thursday, the number of airline and ship passengers entering the U.S. with business visas fell by 9 percent in April.

Drop in Business Travelers

Apart from the Middle East, where 9.4 percent more people arrived in the U.S. on business visas compared to April 2024, every major global region saw declines in the number of people heading to the States for work. Western Europe—one of the key markets for corporate travelers to the U.S.—saw a significant decline of 17.7 percent year-on-year.

Photo: Courtesy of Joel Ambass / Unsplash

Mexico and Canada—two other key sources of business travelers—also saw significant declines in the number of people crossing the border for work. While data from Canadian visitors wasn’t included in the National Travel and Tourism Office report, figures from Statistics Canada show that return air trips to the U.S. fell by 20 percent in April, while return road vehicle trips fell even further by 35 percent. Meanwhile, the number of Mexicans arriving by air with business visas fell by 11.8 percent, although figures for those who came by land weren’t included.

These latest figures are a cause for concern for the corporate travel sector in the U.S., which had previously avoided the worst of the fallout from Trump’s controversial border policies and trade wars. During the first quarter of 2025, the number of visitors entering the country on business visas rose by 7 percent, or around 1.2 million people, compared to January-March 2024. This was in contrast to the number of visitors arriving on tourist visas, which fell by 6 percent in Q1 2025 compared to last year.

But in April, it was the business travel sector’s turn to take a hit, with leisure travel boosted by the late Easter holiday that helped to increase the number of foreign visitors on tourist visas by 13.8 percent compared to April 2024.

Business Visa Arrivals Fall Across Major Markets

While it’s not yet clear if the number of visitors on tourist visas will continue to increase or the number of visitors on business visas will continue to fall, early indications are not looking good for the U.S. travel industry in general. According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, the number of advance bookings from Europe to 14 key cities in the U.S. this summer is currently down by around 12 percent compared to last year.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport / Photo: Paul Cuoco / Unsplash

Most major airlines in the U.S. have already responded to that uncertainty, downgrading their financial forecasts for 2025 and cutting capacity on certain routes. Meanwhile, industry experts such as Leslie Andrews, global travel leader for real estate firm JLL and a board member at the Global Business Travel Association, predict business travel will continue to slow during the second and third quarters of the year.

Industry Predictions: A Bleak Outlook

“What I am hearing is, ‘Things were good in the first quarter,’ but in the second quarter, it’s a matter of, ‘Must you take that trip?’” said Andrews. “They’re pulling in the reins a bit to make sure only purposeful travel is happening as things grow and evolve.”

According to the business travel association BT4Europe, many companies are holding back from sending their employees to the U.S. over concerns about entry procedures, especially for at-risk groups like those who have made politically charged social media posts or those in the LGBTQ+ community.

Photo: Courtesy of Artem Zhukov / Unsplash

Meanwhile, Suzanne Neufang, CEO of the Global Business Travel Association, said almost a third of its members expect a global decline in business travel numbers in 2025. All of these predictions are worrying for the business travel industry, not only in the U.S. but across the world, where the sector is valued at around $1.6 trillion and is only just making a recovery from the pandemic.

“The uncertainty is unnerving for a business travel sector that likes to be safe and likes to be efficient,” said Neufang.