President Donald Trump was under fire from critics on Wednesday who accused him of killing tourism in the United States with a new policy that would require visitors to undergo social media inspections.
Under the new rule, international travelers would have to provide their social media history over the last five years, The Guardian reported.
Social media users had strong responses to the new mandate.
"If you want to ban foreign tourism, just say so. Don't demand that tourists prove they've never criticized the Dear Leader like some creepy Maoist cult. Oh, and good luck with the 2026 World Cup, or ever getting the Olympics or another international event here again," Brookings Institute fellow Jessica Riedl wrote on X.
"The Trump administration plans to require all foreign tourists to provide their social media histories from the last five years to enter the country. Yes, I said TOURISTS — not immigrants. This is insane. It will DECIMATE the U.S. tourism industry," Jon Cooper, majority leader of Suffolk County legislature and former Long Island campaign chair for Barack Obama, wrote on X.
"Yeah this is the death knell for tourism. It doesn’t matter if it passes or not. It scares people. And thats enough. People don't want to be scared on vacation," Gabrielle Ferry, founder of The Thurman Perry Foundation, wrote on X.
"Wow — even China doesn't do this," Bethany Allen, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's Head of China investigations, wrote on X.
"Buckle up, US airlines, hotels, hospitality companies, places like NY, Miami, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Hawaii. Market share will shift to places that welcome tourists," pollster and strategist Bruce Anderson wrote on X.
"Oh the irony! Especially given their rhetoric on 'free speech' vis a vis Europe. Incidentally this is something we often believe China is doing but that's not true at all: I researched it and there's never been a case of a tourist stopped at the Chinese border for what they posted on social media (they don't ask, don't check and don't care). So we're now in a world where the US ironically might have the singlemost restrictive policy on free speech in the world when it comes to this," entrepreneur Arnaud Bertrand wrote on X.
"BREAKING: The tourism industry is COLLAPSING because of Trump," Spencer Hakimian, founder of Tolou Capital Management, wrote on X.