As international visitors stay away, Yellowstone tourism industry banks on Americans

WEST YELLOWSTONE, MONTANA—Tchotchke shop owners are busy stocking shelves with Old Faithful shot glasses, stuffed teddy bears and Yellowstone hoodies. Motel managers are hiring their last employees as the summer tourism season begins with the opening of Yellowstone’s West Entrance today.

After park crews plowed a winter’s worth of snow from roads, visitors are now motoring to Old Faithful, Canyon and Norris, marking the unofficial start to the summer. This year, fewer of those tourists, ogling at “red dog” bison calves, delighting in a geyser’s eruption and soaking up spectacular mountain views, will likely be international travelers.

Overseas travel to the U.S. nosedived 11.6% in March, reflecting jitters over Trump administration tariffs, stock market turmoil and foreign bitterness toward the country’s altered relationship with the rest of the world.

Several data points reveal a sluggish start to the summer tourism season.

The International Trade Administration, an arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce, reported the 11.6% drop in overseas visitation in March. (The figure, compared to the same month last year, does not reflect travelers from Canada and Mexico.)

“U.S. Economy to Lose Billions as Foreign Tourists Stay Away,” Bloomberg headlined an April 14 story.

Mike Gierau, a state senator, restaurant owner and co-chairman of JH AIR, a nonprofit business consortium that coordinates service to Jackson Hole, sees the tide. “International travel is dropping like a stone based on all the stuff coming from Washington,” he said.

Moreover, at the South Entrance to the world’s first national park, the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce reports a dip in the 60-day outlook for already booked hotel rooms compared to 2024.

Rick Howe, the chamber’s president, said June and July “are not as strong as we would expect — they’re not picking up as quickly as they [usually] do.” 

That 60-day outlook, released March 31, shows about 54% of coming days falling shy of last year’s numbers based on bookings at 16 hotels.

“It’s not going to be a record year,” Howe said.

Not giving up hope

In 2024, travel spending in Wyoming amounted to $4.9 billion, according to the Wyoming Office of Tourism. Travel and tourism supported 33,610 jobs, generated $278 million in tax receipts and resulted in 8.8 million overnight visitors, the office said in a review of last year.

Tourism, Gierau said, is the second-largest revenue-generating industry in the Equality State behind energy development. “In tourism, everything you do is taxed,” he said, “everything we buy, everything we sell.”

Despite the data dips, industry officials hope and believe in redemption. If overseas visitors aren’t coming to the U.S., Americans could forego foreign travel as well, spending their time vacationing closer to home instead.

“One door closes, another opens,” Gierau said.

Also, the outlook for visitors to Jackson Hole, while not yet documented by the chamber, is upbeat for August and September, Howe said. Overall, “we’re pretty much on par with last summer — for the moment,” he said.

At Yellowstone’s East Entrance near Cody, lodge owners have seen “a little bit of a drop,” in reservations, said Jennifer Thoma, the executive director of the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce. There’s now a glimmer of relief.

“It seems like reservation numbers are back up,” she said.

In addition to tariffs, market turmoil and foreign enmity, DOGE cuts to the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service have rattled travelers. Those indiscriminate firings and resignations have sparked worries that campgrounds won’t open and toilets won’t be cleaned.

Tourism industry leaders seek to assure potential customers that DOGE disorder won’t affect their vacations. Yellowstone National Park Lodges General Manager Mike Keller acknowledged in an email that Park Service “staffing uncertainty” has generated worries.

“We are here to assure you that our operations are unaffected and we are ready to welcome you to a memorable Yellowstone experience this spring and summer,” his email reads. “The park remains open, the views are as breathtaking as ever, the wildlife is flourishing, and the sense of wonder that Yellowstone National Park evokes is unchanging and eternal.”

COVID redux?

For Howe at the Jackson chamber, the season could mimic the surge in RV campers and regional travel that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic. “People are not worried services won’t be available,” he said.

“We are not hearing the concerns that we were two to three weeks ago,” Howe said. “Those calls are not happening anymore.”

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He also asked innkeepers a month ago to report whether they’re getting calls from people cancelling reservations because of economic hardships. “The answer is ‘no,’” he said.

Reflecting information from airlines, Gierau predicted “a good summer,” but also one that’s “just different.”

There will be fewer bus tours filled with foreigners and, instead, more people “on the senior circuit,” he said.

The next Jackson chamber 60-day outlook through mid-June, compiled by consultants DestiMetrics, publishes April 20. A crash is “not a major concern at the moment,” Howe said.“It’s kind of a moving target,” Howe said of the summer forecast. “With all the things going on, things changing rapidly, it’s hard to know.”