Disney warns of hit from flagging foreign visits

Disney has said its amusement parks in the US will take a hit in the months ahead due to flagging numbers of international visitors.

The company said it would offset this by marketing to US customers and still expected the parks business - a key profit driver - to deliver modest growth.

The number of foreign visitors to the US dropped last year for the first time since 2020, with some analysts linking it to a backlash against President Donald Trump's policies.

Disney did not respond to a question about what was driving the shift but its comments add to concerns that tourists' anti-US sentiment has increased this year.

The US has already hiked fees at national parks for foreign visitors and is considering requiring visitors from dozens of countries, including the UK, to submit five-year social media histories.

One-third of international travellers say they are less likely to visit the US if those social media checks are introduced, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council, which represents the industry and conducted a recent survey focused on the plan.

Preliminary data from the US International Trade Administration (ITA) show foreign visits to the US already fell 2.5% last year, not including figures from Mexico and Canada, historically one of the largest source of visitors to the US.

The hit is expected to be significantly larger once figures from Canada are included.

Visits from the country, where a boycott US movement emerged after Trump targeted Canada with tariffs, plunged more than 20% in the first nine months of the year, compared with the same period in 2024, according to the ITA.

Last year, attendance at Disney's parks in California and Florida dipped 1%.

Executives said despite its warning about "international visitation headwinds", bookings at US parks were still on track to grow 5% this year.

Attendance was up 1% in the most recent quarter, while overall revenue at its US and international parks rose 6% year-on-year in the quarter to more than $10bn (£7.3bn).

Guy Bisson of Ampere Analysis said the figures suggested the impact on the firm should international travellers stay away will not be severe.

"It's not going to be as stellar as they would have hoped or it would normally be... but it's not an all-out disaster either," he said.

Shares in Disney fell 4% on Monday after the firm reported its results,

Overall revenue in the quarter rose 5% year-on-year to $26bn, boosted by the release of films such as Zootopia and Avatar sequels.

Profits however fell nearly 6%, as rising content and distribution costs weighed on the bottom line.