Disney & Universal Target International Visitors Amid Global Travel Challenges

As President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the leaders of those countries quickly instructed their citizens not to spend money in the United States, especially in states that Trump carried in November. While the tariffs have been delayed by 30 days, the bitter feeling from Canadiens and Mexicans remains.

The threat of tariffs has caused many Canadiens to rethink their trips to Walt Disney World in Florida, a state that Trump won. However, with the threat of more tariffs coming, Disney World can expect the citizens of other countries to follow suit.

Trump has threatened that his next round of tariffs will target the United Kingdom and the European Union. If those countries retaliate and urge their citizens not to visit red states, it could significantly dent Disney World’s business.

According to Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing agency, 6.38 million visitors came to the state from other countries last year. Nearly 1.2 million of those came from the United Kingdom, which at 18 percent was the second-most of any country behind Canada.

The vast majority of those visitors from the UK would spend weeks in Central Florida at the Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando Resort.

To help combat the narrative around tariffs and to get more Brits to visit the state, Visit Florida is teaming up with British television personality Alison Hammond to show the United Kingdom how to visit Florida on a budget. The 10-part series will air on BBC 2.

Despite the large number of visitors from the UK in 2024, the state has still not reached pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, 1.334 million visitors from the UK came to Florida.

The state hoped that Epic Universe’s opening in May would attract more British tourists in 2025 than before the pandemic. However, the threat of tariffs may have dashed those hopes.

Visit Florida hopes its new BBC series will address any tariff-related argument the British Government makes against coming to the United States. Time will tell if the investment will work.