Los Angeles tourism decline 2026 reflects a drop in international visitors linked to economic pressures and U.S. policies. The slowdown is hitting Latino-owned businesses and workers across Southern California’s tourism economy.
Immigration raids, the economic crisis, and Donald Trump’s hostile policies have discouraged international tourists from visiting Los Angeles for the first time in more than a decade.
According to reports from Visit California, direct travel spending in 2025 was slightly below the previous year in Los Angeles County, a step down from an average growth of close to 3 percent per year over the last 10 years and an average growth of 2.7 percent for the whole state last year.
Los Angeles has always been a popular destination worldwide. Its glamour, Hollywood, the Dodgers, and the Lakers are major attractions for tourists. But now even Angelenos themselves are leaving the city. Los Angeles County has experienced a significant population decline in recent years, leading the nation in domestic population loss. Recent data shows that between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, approximately 53,421 to over 60,000 residents left the county.
There is hope, however, with the upcoming World Cup to be held this June. Los Angeles will host eight matches at SoFi Stadium during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, starting with the U.S. Men’s National Team opener vs Paraguay on June 12, 2026. After that, Iran vs New Zealand on June 15, Switzerland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 18, Belgium vs Iran on June 21, and USA vs Turkiye on June 25.
Visit California said upcoming events will change the narrative around Los Angeles tourism. Some travel sectors are already improving, with hotel room revenue up 4 percent year over year in the county in the first quarter of 2026.
“The next three years change the equation entirely,” said Visit California’s Beteta. With the FIFA World Cup this summer and the 2028 Olympics, she said, “L.A. is entering a period of sustained global attention.”
Tourism industry leaders are not so convinced, according to a report by The New York Times.
But with two months to go, the long-promised World Cup boom has not yet materialized. Some in the U.S. tourism industry worry it may turn out to be little more than a modest bump.
“It is not the cornucopia that FIFA talked about,” Vijay Dandapani, president and CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City, told The Athletic.
Chris Nassetta, longtime president and CEO of Hilton Hotels and Resorts, admitted at a conference in Washington, D.C. last week that “the World Cup, at this point, does not look as strong as what we had hoped.”
The tourism website thetravel.com reports a decline in tourism from Latin America to the United States, which is bad news ahead of the World Cup.
“Latinos are historically significant sources of visitors to the United States, particularly Brazilians, Colombians, and Argentines, and notably Mexicans, who share culture and language with South Americans. But as U.S. international tourist arrivals continue to decline, Latin Americans seem to have developed a new interest in South Korean culture.”
Across Southern California, from Hollywood Boulevard to Palm Springs, foot traffic dropped last summer. Tour buses carried fewer people, and souvenir shops sold fewer goods.
“Los Angeles is California’s primary global gateway,” Beteta said. “No other region relies as heavily on international visitation, so when global travel softens, L.A. feels it first and most acutely.”
International air arrivals to Los Angeles County fell more than 30 percent from August to November 2025. In Los Angeles, current international arrivals are lower than in previous months, although the state saw an overall 3 percent increase last year.
Travelers from Canada and the Middle East visited California in significantly lower numbers in 2025, with arrivals from those regions down 18 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
“Fewer people are going to America, including the West Coast,” said Mike Duignan, a hospitality expert and professor at Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne University. “People do not like Trump, and people are not traveling because of many other geopolitical and political factors.”
An 8 percent decline in visitor air spending, around 188 million dollars, contributed to the county’s overall slump. The number of tourism jobs also shrank by around 1,000 last year.
