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ABQ Trolley Co. is having its slowest summer in recent memory, said owner Mike Silva.

The company offers guided tours via trolley and party bike of sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 cultural offerings, and after a healthy 2024, Silva says business has grown quiet.

鈥淟ast year, I think there was a rebound鈥� I was chalking it up to somewhat returning to normalcy,鈥� Silva said. 鈥淭his year, it鈥檚 been the slowest July and into August that we鈥檝e had since pre-COVID.鈥�

New Mexico had a record-breaking 2024 for tourism, according to a released this month by the New Mexico Tourism Department.

Visitors from across the world made 42.6 million trips to the Land of Enchantment, where they spent $8.8 billion 鈥� the highest numbers ever recorded. But this year, things are far slower, business owners and tourism officials say 鈥� the result of political and economic uncertainty.

鈥淥bviously, we recognize that this year is not last year,鈥� said state tourism spokesperson Cody Johnson. 鈥淚t is a reality that there has been a softening in the tourism space across the country.鈥�

The visitor economy sustains 95,219 jobs in New Mexico, 8.1% of the state鈥檚 workforce, according to the report, and tourism accounts for 4.3% of New Mexico鈥檚 economy.

International travel to the United States is in decline, according to the . The nonprofit reported international visits to the U.S. were 14% lower in March 2025 than during the same period last year.

In the past at ABQ Trolley Co., it was not uncommon for half of the trolley to be full of European or Australian tourists in town to see Route 66 or filming locations from 鈥淏reaking Bad,鈥� Silva said. These days, he says trolley tours with international guests are 鈥渘onexistent.鈥�

鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel like people feel like they want to come to America. They don鈥檛 feel welcomed here,鈥� Silva said.

International tourists made up only 1.8% of the total visitors to New Mexico last year, though international tourism has been growing. The number of foreign visitors to New Mexico rose by 10.4% last year and 34% the year before, according to the report.

New Mexico won鈥檛 feel the decline in international tourism as acutely as other states, Johnson said. However, New Mexico鈥檚 international visitors spend nearly five times as much per trip as domestic travelers, according to the report.

Tourism officials say some Americans are opting not to travel internationally, either, due to cost or political turmoil.

鈥淚 just think there鈥檚 concern about how we鈥檙e being perceived on an international basis,鈥� said Randy Randall, director of tourism for the city of Santa Fe. 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a sense that Americans may not be quite as well respected internationally as they have been in the past.鈥�

Randall said Santa Fe鈥檚 lower-priced hotels have reported fewer bookings this year, while more upscale hotels are showing an increase in occupancy, indicating that more affluent travelers have chosen to stay nearby, while cost-conscious travelers may have opted not to travel at all.

Visitor trips to Taos 鈥� one of the state鈥檚 most popular tourist destinations 鈥� have dipped slightly over the past two years, said Rima Krisst, Taos鈥� director of marketing and tourism. Krisst hopes a renewed push for domestic travel will draw more weekend visitors from New Mexico and nearby states, which already account for about two-thirds of the town鈥檚 tourism.

鈥淎mericans are still eager to travel, but many have shifted their preferences to staying closer to home,鈥� Krisst said. 鈥淩oad tripping is back in a big way, and people are venturing to neighboring states for vacations that might cost less, are closer to home, (and) might give them flexibility in their itinerary options and travel duration.鈥�

Dawn and Kevin Ritton, who visited Old Town sa国际传媒官网网页入口 from Newport News, Virginia, on Tuesday, said they were being more selective about their travel this year than in years past.

鈥淭his is our big one for the year. Before, we could do little jaunts here and there,鈥� Dawn Ritton said. 鈥淲e have to pick and choose more than we had to.鈥�

Like other parts of the state, sa国际传媒官网网页入口 is also seeing a decline in tourism so far this year. Hotel occupancy in the city is down 3.6% since last year, according to Tania Armenta, president and CEO of Visit sa国际传媒官网网页入口. Roughly 4.5% fewer people have flown through the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 International Sunport compared to this time last year, said Sunport spokesperson Diana L贸pez Rabad谩n.

Old Town sa国际传媒官网网页入口, a popular spot for tourists, is seeing fewer visitors, too. On Monday, the shopping area was a 鈥済host town,鈥� said Edward Candelaria, who co-owns the Breaking Bad Store in Old Town with Marq Smith.

Last year was profitable, Smith said, but this year, spending at the store is down 5%. Foreign tourists usually love 鈥淏reaking Bad,鈥� they said, though lately they鈥檝e been seeing fewer of them.

鈥淲hen we get customers in, the biggest thing they say is, 鈥榃e weren鈥檛 sure if we wanted to come to the United States or not, because it鈥檚 not really tourist friendly right now.鈥� So that could definitely be a reason why we鈥檝e seen a drop-off,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淏ut the people who didn鈥檛 come, we can鈥檛 ask them why they didn鈥檛 come.鈥�