Global travel finally has surged past pre-pandemic levels, with total gross bookings reaching $1.67 trillion in 2025. And the International Air Transport Association predicts that airlines will carry a record 5.2 billion people in 2026—a 4.4% increase over the previous year.
At the same time, however, the United States is hemorrhaging billions in tourism revenue by the year, a downward trend many experts credit to President Donald Trump’s nationalistic approach to immigration. In December, the administration expanded its travel ban to 39 countries—most of them in Africa—that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem claimed had “been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies” on X. Even some countries not included on the travel ban have been hit with increased visa fees and immigration processing freezes.
For a while, the administration’s general hostility toward immigrants and visitors from other nations didn’t appear to significantly impact the American traveler. But as the US tightens its visa requirements for visitors, other nations are now responding in kind: Over the past year, the US has lost visa-free access to seven nations—including Brazil, which reintroduced visa requirements for Americans in reciprocation for US restrictions. The result? The US passport is rapidly losing its strength.
According to the 2026 Henley Passport Index released last month, the US passport is now ranked as the 10th most powerful passport in the world with visa-free access to 179 countries. That puts it beneath 38 other countries—including Malaysia, Lithuania, Iceland, Slovakia, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates—in terms of the visa-free access it grants to other destinations. It’s only a slight improvement from last year, when the US fell to No. 12 (with visa-free access to 180 destinations), its lowest position ever. For the prior 20 years—from 2005 up until October 2025—the US passport had consistently ranked within the top 10.
The UK passport—which was ranked the world’s most powerful in 2010, 2013, 2014, and 2015—has similarly tumbled down the list in recent years following Brexit, and is currently tied with Australia, Latvia, and Liechtenstein at No. 7. Singapore’s passport now holds the number one spot on the rankings, followed by Japan and South Korea, suggesting a shift in passport power toward Asia.
Americans have long been accustomed to passport privilege, defined as a person’s ability to move and live globally based on the nationality of their passport and the restrictions or benefits that come with it. And while US travelers may not feel the effects of this right away, “Over time, Americans may find the level of travel freedom and global mobility they’ve long been accustomed to is no longer guaranteed,” says Armand Arton, CEO of Arton Capital, an investment migration firm that also tracks passport power around the world.
