After years of construction.

San Diego International Airport’.. one opened recently with a spacious concourse, local eateries and new flight routes.

The new terminal one replaces the old facility, which was built in 1967 to accommodate 2.5 million passengers annually, but squeezed in 12 million people last year an airport official said.

San Diego officials hope the new $3.8 billion airport terminal and new domestic and international flights will help weather to.. trending in California.

In May, Visit California, a nonprofit tourism marketing agency, projected a 1% drop in visits to the state in the first year over year decline since the pandemic.

San Diego tourism experts similarly predicted that visitation would flatten.

This year's trade wars and market fluctuations lead people to pull back on tr.. California has braced for a setback this year as Trump adminis.. policies on tariffs, immigration and gender identity have chilled some foreign travel and international exchange rates have made it pricier to visit the US.

Canada Flight Center Travel group saw a 40% drop in le.. travel from Canada to the U.S.

for the first half of the year.

They cite steep U.S.

tariffs, aggressive border checks and President Donald Trump's annexat.. threats as reasons to stay away.

Canadian bookings to the US dropped sharply in February after the first round of tariffs, and have remained consistent since then, according to the Canadian Travel Group.

Meanwhile, visits from Japan fell 20% and from Australia by nearly 15%.

Forecasts for 2025 predict a 9.2% decline in international trips to California.

While foreign air travel is dwindling throughout California.

San Diego International Airport saw a 5.5% boost in global passengers over the past year, with the addition of more international flights when the final phase of the San Diego's new terminal is done in 2028.

There will be 30 gates, compared to 20 at the old facility.

For CalMatters.

I'm Robert Meeks, with reporting by Deborah Brennan.