Ted Pappageorge, secretary-treasurer of Culinary Workers Union Local 226, told The Guardian: “If you tell the rest of the world you’re not welcome, they are going to listen. Our members are telling us that they’re quite nervous, and that’s why they’re calling it a Trump slump."
Pappageorge also pointed to multiple factors compounding the tourism slowdown: ICE operations, trade disputes, and economic instability tied to tariffs.
“You have Canadians that have said, ‘We’re going to go elsewhere.’ Some of our best customers are Mexican tourists. But the biggest one is southern California and visitation is down because they’re nervous about raids, the tariffs, the economy riled up,” he said.