In the French Quarter during the 2026 Sugar Bowl parade in New Orleans, December 31, 2025. OCTAVIO JONES / AFP
For years, a two-week tour of the American West's awe-inspiring parks – Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and the vast open spaces of the Far West – was a top-seller for AmériGo, a French tour operator that specializes in US trips. "Five years ago, this kind of tour cost around €3,000 per person. Now, it is over €5,500. Everything has gone up. The US has become a very expensive destination for French travelers, who are taken aback by the prices. A basic breakfast will easily cost $40 [€34] per person! Naturally, the number of customers has dropped," said Jean Eustache, the CEO of AmériGo. Since the inflation crisis, his revenue has been cut in half, and his company has gone from 35 employees to 20. Eustache is now trying to pivot to Canada, "where the currency is cheaper."
Like AmériGo, professionals organizing trips to the US are watching helplessly as numbers fall. In 2025, their customer base shrank by 15%, according to the Syndicate of French Tour-Operators (SETO), the union that represents most of the industry. Bookings for summer 2026 are off to a poor start, lagging 30% behind last year's figures at this time.
