How will tariffs affect overseas travel this summer?

No, politics board please

While I concur this forum is one of the last bastions of dialogue without politics or derisive comments, I do wonder what foreign travel will be like for Americans in 2025 given an upcoming cruise we have starting in Norway and ending up in Iceland. So, I'm going to share my thoughts and will try to delve into the topic without political bias because it is, or will be, a thought some Americans are likely to have. I think it's a topic that can be discussed without taking sides, and it is broader than just tariffs. If it devolves, perfectly fine with the thread being deleted. I've always appreciated being able to post on TigerDroppings as a "feriner"!

I wonder sometimes about how Americans in general are going to be treated abroad in the coming months. It's usually never been an issue; you have some joking comments or inquiries about our system of government and issues they'll hear about in the news but usually I've attributed that to basic curiosity about American life in general. I will say in general every country you visit has their political challenges. If you spend some time studying politics in countries like the UK, France or Italy right now, you'd find a high degree of uncertainty as well. I always made it a point to learn about what's going on in the countries I'm visiting and if those kinds of questions or innuendos come, I can usually just kind of shake my head, "say yeah, we're going through some challenges right now" and then ask them about...Usually, it works as no one really wants to go there and it's ultimately about having fun, learning new cultures and getting to know people from different walks of life!

I've always felt like I'm an ambassador for our country because I've been in many situations where I was one of the few Americans a person might have met in certain regions I've visited where not a lot of Americans visit. I've felt that how they see me act and conduct myself can influence their opinions of our country. At the end of the day, the vast majority of us around the world are trying to survive and get by day by day. We want to enjoy our lives while we can and avoid things that produce negative feelings.

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so it really shouldn't be that much of a shift unless you actively go looking for a fight

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It'll just turn into yet another excuse to do the typical OT circuit of travel (Cancun, 30A, Disney, etc.) with the family that doesn't involve anything new for the next five years.

The tourism industry lost a lot of money during Covid and compounding the problem with record inflation has made the recovery bumpy. I don't think they can afford to be jingoistic towards travelers. Sure there will be some volatility in commodity markets, but I don't see how that would impact tourism.

LOL. Funny thing is my wife was in the backseat and she is fluent in Spanish (Cuban).

If you don't lead with American politics in conversations or wear maga or other politically themed clothing head-to-toe you should be fine.

To go back to the OP's question, tariffs reduce international trade. That's part of the point of them -- to favor domestic industries at the expense of international ones.

As such, demand for international business travel may decline. In the short term, that might lead to lower airfares. Of course, that would initially be expected on routes with more business than leisure travel (e.g. flights to Milan would be more impacted than flights to Rome).

What I just wrote is highly speculative, but it is the logical conclusion. And, of course, a lot depends on which countries are facing tariffs. Obviously, my above opinion is based on tariffs with the EU.

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can count on one hand the number of people who were rude to me.

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The old lady working in a convenience store in Wroclaw, Poland for me. I tried to say thank you in Polish, and I got a "why did you even try" sneer. That's about it. I don't count people stalking you for robbing purposes, because they'll rob anyone in South Africa, not just 'Mericans.

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And, of course, a lot depends on which countries are facing tariffs. Obviously, my above opinion is based on tariffs with the EU.

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Another angle: if there is a US/China trade war, you may see affects on big euro cities later in 2025/2026 if large Chinese tour groups begin to taper due to their domestic issues. I doubt there would be any impact for near term summer travel though, and a trade war would have to actually begin and be accompanied by press/a feeling that it's duration would be meaningful for the Chinese traveling class.

Less lines for popular attractions and less iPads used as cameras?