Why Chinese tourism to US is still rising despite Trump: ‘hard to replicate’
Chinese travellers to the US worry about everything from gun violence to hostile border checks. But visits are still up compared with last year
When Gao Huasheng, a university professor from Shanghai, began planning a two-week family holiday to San Francisco earlier this year, he worried about exposing his children to scenes of drug use or even gun violence.
But in the end, the 44-year-old decided to go ahead with the trip – and his fears turned out to be misplaced. The family’s visit to the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom amusement park and road trip down the Pacific coast went off without a hitch.
“My children said it was exciting, not crowded and not hot,” Gao said, referring to Six Flags.
Many Chinese tourists appear to be making the same call in 2025: to travel to the United States despite a host of misgivings.
In the first six months of 2025, the US International Trade Administration logged 755,225 arrivals from China, up 2.57 per cent compared with the same period last year. Arrivals reached 410,306 in the first half of 2023.