This didn\u2019t happen by accident. Trump has spent months antagonizing America\u2019s northern neighbor\u2014and a key Vegas tourism source. He suggested Canada should become the 51st U.S. state<\/a> and called its prime minister at the time \u201cGovernor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada.\u201d He later claimed he wasn\u2019t \u201ctrolling,\u201d<\/a> doubling down that statehood would make Trump\u2019s tariffs \u201ctotally disappear<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Canada\u2019s new Prime Minister Mark Carney fired back<\/a>, saying his country \u201cis not for sale\u201d and dismissing Trump\u2019s fantasy as laughable and offensive. Even Trump\u2019s own ambassador to Canada warned<\/a> the rhetoric was unprecedentedly toxic for relations. And in tourism, words have consequences. Canada is America\u2019s No. 1 source of foreign visitors<\/a>. Insult them enough, and they stop coming.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s near-blanket tariffs on Canadian goods turned the insults into policy, triggering a full-blown trade war. The result<\/a>: Car crossings were down 37% year-over-year in July, and air arrivals dropped 26%. Duty-free sales along the border have been cut nearly in half, wiping out millions<\/a> in spending. Indeed, each 1% drop in international travel costs the U.S.<\/a> $1.8 billion in export revenue per year\u2014money that fuels jobs and generates tax revenues. July 2025 marked the seventh straight month<\/a> of plunging traffic, with surveys showing Canadians now feel distinctly unwelcome.<\/p>\n And when the biggest slice of your foreign tourism market dries up, the ripple is felt everywhere. In July, arrivals from Germany were down<\/a> 14.7% compared with last July. Arrivals from China dropped by 13.8% and from Switzerland by 12.7%. Tour operators abroad now steer customers toward anywhere but Trump\u2019s America. Tourism revenue is projected to fall from $181 billion in 2024 to $169 billion in 2025, a $12.5 billion-hit to the economy<\/a>.<\/p>\n And that might just be the tip of the iceberg. A Reuters analysis<\/a> of the underlying data suggests the tourism slump could cost up to $71 billion in the United States\u2019 gross domestic product.<\/p>\n In Las Vegas, the damage is personal. Empty casinos mean shorter shifts, slashed hours, and layoffs. Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer of the Culinary Union, calls the city\u2019s waning tourism the \u201cTrump slump.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you tell the whole world that they\u2019re not welcome, they\u2019re not going to come,\u201d he told<\/a> Time magazine. \u201cThe lifeblood for Las Vegas is Southern California. What folks are telling our members is that the raids and crazy tariffs and this uncertainty, [are causing] people to pull back.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Cars](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AP25215697667268.jpg\" "\\"Cars")
\nCars drive along the Las Vegas Strip on Aug. 2.<\/p>\n