Europeans turn away from US amid growing anti-American sentiment

London: While waiting in line outside Rome’s iconic Gallery Borghese with his family, Polish tourist Antoni Furman shared why the United States is never on his holiday list. “Europe is much less crowded, and the US tariffs on the European Union affect our pockets,” he said.

Furman represents a growing number of Europeans opting out of engaging with the United States. A wave of anti-American sentiment is sweeping across the continent, as US policies strain the transatlantic relationship and influence everyday decisions – from travel choices to consumer behavior, Xinhua news agency reported.

Inbound travel to the US is projected to decline by 8.7 per cent in 2025, with the sharpest drops expected from Canada and Western Europe, according to Oxford Economics.

Data from the US National Travel and Tourism Office revealed that trips from overseas fell by 11.6 per cent in March 2025 compared to the previous year. Visits from Western Europe alone plummeted 17.2 per cent. Germany, Spain, and Ireland each saw declines exceeding 20 per cent, while the United Kingdom and France recorded decreases of around 10 per cent.

Travel booking platform Omio reported a 16 per cent increase in US trip cancellations in the first quarter (Q1) year-on-year, with cancellation rates from the UK, Germany, and France nearing 40 per cent.

Tourism Economics, part of Oxford Economics, noted a 10 per cent decline in European trip plans to the US for the 2025 summer season.

Oxford Economics pointed to several causes for the gloomy tourism outlook: trade tariffs targeting traditional allies, troubling media reports on border security, and controversial travel advisories.

Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics, criticised the Trump administration’s approach, noting that Trump’s aggressive rhetoric toward the European Union (EU), Greenland, and Canada are all unforced errors, and have impacts on how people view the US.

A British woman working in sports echoed this sentiment, saying, “I disagree with many of Trump’s policies. The US just doesn’t seem like a positive place. I’d rather visit France – and I think most Brits complain about Trump’s policies.”

Avoiding travel is just one of the many ways Europeans are rejecting American influence. From daily household goods to tech and media, European consumers are actively boycotting US brands.

In Denmark, a Facebook group titled “Boykot varer fra USA (Boycott goods from USA)” surged to 95,000 members by April. Similar initiatives emerged in Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, and Poland, urging consumers to favor European-made products.

On Reddit, around 200,000 members of the BuyFromEU community share alternatives to American brands such as Netflix, McDonald’s, and Apple – down to everyday items like socks, ketchup, and headphones.

To support the movement, European developers have launched barcode-scanning apps to help consumers identify the country of origin for products. Many supermarkets now feature dedicated sections for European goods, with clear signage highlighting EU-made products.

Goldman Sachs analysts warned that the US could lose up to $90 billion in revenue in 2025 due to declining tourism and mounting international boycotts. The resulting slowdown could modestly drag on the country’s GDP, primarily through reduced foreign tourism.

Trump has destroyed the reputation of the US, said Paul English, co-founder of travel website Kayak. He stressed that the reduction of travels to the US is not only one more terrible blow to the country’s economy, but also represents reputation damage that could take generations to repair.

IANS