Trump’s economy = not so hot tourist season, locally and nationally
So far the tourist season in the Black Hills region has been not so hot. Visitation to our largest National Park Service sites – the Badlands (-27% in June) and Mt. Rushmore (-9% in June) – has been down significantly. On a national level, overall park visitation was down 7.5% in June, to the tune of nearly 3 million visitors.
To some extent, you can figure that a sharp drop in the number of international visitors to the U.S. has been the most notable reason for the tourism industry’s Trump-induced coma. In a just published piece on the Trump-era decline in international tourist numbers, titled “Trump’s $40 billion Slump,” Bloomberg says the U.S. tourist industry “lost out on $16.6 billion in 2025 and is headed for an additional $21 billion deficit this year.”
So, it’s been clear enough that foreign visitation to the U.S. has dropped off since Trump was inaugurated in 2025, but this year it looks like Americans are pulling back on vacation travel plans as well.
Why? Because in spite of Trump’s boastful promises, the economy is a dud. Financial services behemoth Morningside headlined an article last week that says it all: “47% of Americans Scale Back Summer Travel as Grocery and Gas Costs Eat Into Vacation Budgets.” The piece cited a study that concluded “many Americans are spending vacation money on everyday essentials and paying off debt.” I don’t think Trump had this in mind when he promised that “we’re going to win so much, you may even get tired of winning."
The study’s findings, also cited in yahoo!finance, said of respondents that “nearly half (47%) say they've postponed, shortened, downgraded, or entirely canceled a summer trip because of cost. Among those affected, gas prices were cited most often (46%), along with groceries and everyday bills (29%), hotel or vacation rental (24%), and food costs while traveling (18%).”
Weak national park visitation numbers reflect the study’s conclusions and I have no doubt we’ll see some revenue downturns in South Dakota’s visitor-oriented communities and businesses as the summer progresses.
I’ve already noted here that Trump’s ag policies have been such a flop that he’s resorted to billions of dollars of mitigation payments to farmers that have been financially punished during his administrations.
Now it looks like it's the tourism industry’s turn to feel the joys of winning, Trump style.
John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills. He was a weekly columnist for the Rapid City Journal for 20 years. His articles and commentary have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post and The Omaha World-Herald. Tsitrian served in the Marines for three years (1966-69), including a 13-month tour of duty as a radioman in Vietnam. Republish with permission.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
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