Why are U.S. international student arrivals plummeting?

CGTN Europe

CGTN Europe interviewed Anita Mendiratta, Special Advisor to the Secretary-General of UN Tourism, aviation advisor, and author of The Call to Leadership.

Transcript

00:00The number of international students who arrived in the United States in August

00:03was down almost a fifth on the same time last year, according to new figures.

00:07That's the largest decline on record outside of the pandemic.

00:11The date is based on the total number of new students

00:13coming through the International Visitor Arrivals Programme

00:17and existing international students returning from trips overseas.

00:20The largest drop has been in students arriving from Asia, which was down by 24%.

00:25Well, tourism numbers are down two.

00:28Figures for July show that the number of international visitors arriving in the U.S.

00:32was down nearly 9% on the year, and that's affected revenue from visitor spending.

00:38It's expected to fall by over $12 billion this year as fewer people choose to visit.

00:44Well, let's talk now to Anita Menderrata,

00:46who's Special Advisor to the Secretary-General for UN Tourism.

00:50Good to see you again, Anita. Welcome back to the programme.

00:52I want to start, if I can, by talking about this drop in international students arriving in the U.S.,

00:57a big drop, what might that be down to?

01:01Well, it's interesting. It's a combination of factors.

01:03I think it's very important because ultimately a student coming across to the U.S. is a traveller.

01:08But those students are also facing the challenges that travellers are in terms of feeling welcome,

01:14feeling safe to be able to cross the border,

01:16and feeling comfortable and ultimately safe to be able to stay.

01:20And especially for a student, you don't want to invest that much in your future,

01:24both in terms of time, anticipation, hope and money,

01:28to realise that you actually might be sent home again.

01:31So there are distinct psychological issues taking place

01:34in terms of the country being one that is receiving people

01:37who want to develop their futures there as students, not only as tourists.

01:42So we've talked earlier in the programme about the U.S. government shutdown has widespread effects,

01:48one of them on the tourism industry.

01:51What does that mean for people thinking about coming to the United States?

01:54Is it putting them off?

01:56It is indeed, very much so.

01:58Because in addition to the fact that the shutdown is shutting down and it's slowing down,

02:02airports, the ability for airlines to function,

02:05and for those to go through the ecosystem,

02:07major attractions are also no longer accessible.

02:10So the Smithsonian Institute, the Grand Canyon, Alcatraz,

02:14all of these massive attractions, people are simply not able to access.

02:18So it's another reason to look elsewhere right now,

02:21and that's what travellers are doing.

02:23They're looking at other destinations where they feel more welcome,

02:26they feel safe, they feel freedom of movement,

02:29they want to spend their money,

02:30and they know they can spend it in places they've longed to see

02:33that are actually open for business.

02:35So some of these businesses are not open,

02:38and for those that rely on tourists,

02:41we've also got fewer people coming from abroad,

02:43fewer local visitors as well.

02:45What effect is this shutdown having on those businesses?

02:48Oh, it's massive.

02:49Because it's not only the jobs that are being impacted

02:52in terms of those that are losing pay,

02:54that are being furloughed,

02:55but it's the ecosystem around tourism.

02:57So if you look at a tourism destination,

02:59it's not just those coming in,

03:01the airlines, the airports, and the hotels.

03:03It's the restaurants, it's the shop,

03:05it's all the retail, it's the small businesses,

03:08it's all of the transport systems.

03:10All of those are losing visitation,

03:13which means they're losing revenue,

03:15they're losing jobs, and they're losing hope.

03:17So the staggering effect is quite penetrating,

03:20and it adds on top to months and months and months of pressure

03:24that the U.S. has faced with all of the issues

03:27that are now causing travellers to, again, look elsewhere

03:30rather than travelling to the States right now.

03:33Anita, thanks so much for coming on the programme.

03:35That's Anita Menderata,

03:36Special Advisor to the Secretary-General for UN Tours.

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