A bumpy travel season for U.S. tourists, destinations
By Andrea Felsted / Bloomberg Opinion
The travel industry is experiencing a bout of turbulence.
Under pressure along multiple fronts, U.S. airlines and hotels are being buffeted the most. But given broader concerns over consumer confidence, as well as a slowdown in the market for pricy handbags and watches, European tour operators and those serving luxury travelers should buckle up too.
Donald Trumps trade war is taking its toll on our wanderlust. Concerns about the climate for tourists led to an almost 10 percent drop in arrivals of non-U.S. citizens by plane in March (though this could also have been influenced by the timing of Easter, which fell in April this year). Its true U.S. inbound tourism hadnt fully bounced back after the pandemic, but the added weakness, especially from fewer Canadian travelers, has been unhelpful.
Its not just the direct effects of the trade war and reports of tourists being held at the border. There are signs that recessionary fears are creeping in, while government cuts are hurting business travel. Future Partners, which polls 4,000 American leisure travelers each month, found that while sentiment toward vacations hasnt fallen off, some consumers were starting to adapt their plans.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-a-bumpy-travel-season-for-u-s-tourists-destinations/

Walleye
(41,174 posts)CTyankee
(66,395 posts)I've had a great travel life but it's time to just stay put. The airport stuff just nailed it in its coffin...
kimbutgar
(25,380 posts)No way am I going on a cruise. Id love to take an international trip but I might be detained re entering the country because I have made negative posts on Facebook about the orange hitler. Sadly I have to stay put. Car trips within my state are the only vacations i can take now!
Bev54
(12,567 posts)issuing warnings but travel groups as well.
DFW
(58,310 posts)It's enough that two German girls were detained like hardened criminals and expelled in Hawaii. This is just ONE incident, and falls into the "never should have happened" category. But it made headlines all around the EU, and people remember that when they make their summer travel plans. People remember spectacular incidents, and since this is NOT the reception people expect in the country of their vacation destination, its effects will reverberate, and cancellations WILL occur. Selecting the USA for a leisure travel destination is a voluntary choice, and one that plenty of people have chosen to alter this year. We did this to ourselves (as a nation, anyway), and it is now our lot to live with the (very predictable) consequences.