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American businesses are already feeling the cost of bad geopolitics as Indian tourism to the United States plunged about 15 percent in August compared with last year — a hit that could shave roughly $340 million off summer spending for hotels, restaurants and retailers. Those are not abstract figures; they are real dollars that pay wages and keep Main Street businesses afloat.
This isn’t an isolated blip. The drop in August capped a third consecutive monthly decline after an 8 percent fall in June and another pullback in July, according to provisional U.S. tourism data — a worrying reversal after years of steady growth from one of our most valuable overseas markets. American business owners who planned for a busy season are left wondering why diplomacy and trade squabbles are bleeding their bottom lines.
Washington and New Delhi have been trading barbs — and policies — during this stretch, from U.S. reciprocal tariffs to disagreements over India’s energy purchases from Russia and even who claims credit for fragile regional ceasefires. That political rub has consequences far beyond press statements: policy choices and tariff threats are chilling travel and commerce between two democracies that should be partners in prosperity.
Make no mistake, standing up for American interests is conservative policy, but standing tough should not become an excuse for needlessly alienating customers who spend thousands when they visit our country. If we’re going to wield tariffs and leverage, we must do it strategically — with a clear plan to protect U.S. jobs and to bring travelers back through smarter outreach, not knee-jerk antagonism that drives away consumers.
Indian visitors are unusually valuable: recent reporting shows they spend well above the global average per trip, making them an outsized boon for U.S. businesses from New York to Las Vegas and the countless small businesses in between. When high-spending visitors decide to delay or cancel travel because of diplomatic frictions, it’s American workers and entrepreneurs who suffer first.
Part of the problem is logistical and fixable: visa delays and processing backlogs are discouraging would-be travelers, even as rivals like the U.K. and Canada offer quicker access. Conservatives who care about free enterprise should demand that the government streamline visa processing and empower Brand USA and private-sector partners to win this market back — not throw up barriers that make doing business harder.
The message to both the Biden-era bureaucracy left behind and the current administration negotiating with India is simple: defend America, but don’t punish American businesses in the process. We can and must be firm on national security and fair trade while also ensuring that our hotels, restaurants and small businesses aren’t collateral damage in diplomatic theater. America’s prosperity shouldn’t be hostage to headline politics — it’s time for sober, pro-growth policy that brings tourists back and puts workers first.
