The travel industry, like many industries in the 21st century, is a global one. Like a domino effect, place one thing out of order or knock another thing down, and a single countrys industry could collapse.
Were seeing the beginnings of it right now in the United States.?
The Trump Administrations far-reaching rules and executive orders, as well as his looming threats to annex Canada and Greenland, make an impact. Theyre not just for shock value: theyre hurting the American travel industryand will continue to do so as long as they exist.?
Allow me to explain.?
Its been about two months since Trump took office, and since then, four major things have impacted the American travel industry thus far: tariffs, especially the Canadian trade war; a potential travel ban; his war on illegal immigration, which is now being extended to legal residents (which, by the way, is unconstitutional and thusly, illegal); and the numerous accidents and near-misses among American aircraft, made worse by an air traffic control shortage that DOGE and Trump might have exacerbated.
Trump Trade War Prompts The Canadian Freeze
Lets take a look at tariffs. On the surface, it may seem strange that a tax on goods arriving from another country would impact the nations travel industry, except perhaps slowing down overall spending due to the higher prices of those goods.
Yet when Trump started going after Canada, Canada struck backnot just with retaliatory tariffs, but with an encouragement for its citizens not to buy American goods and not to visit America. Period.?
Were now seeing the beginning of that impact. You see, it wasnt an idle threatCanadians are canceling their travel plans to the U.S., provinces are banning the sale of certain American products and individual Canadians are choosing Canadian brands over American ones. ?
Canadas the biggest source market for international travel. The US Travel Association warned that even if just ten percent of Canadians choose not to visit America this year, the nation will lose 14,000 jobs and generate $2.1 billion less than in 2024.?
Thats a lot of money.?
What happens if that number is greater, though??
In mid-March, Alex Cruz, the vice chair of WestJet, told CNBC that Canadian traffic to the United States was waning in favor of travel elsewhere.
He said that instead of "Phoenix or Florida, it's Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Mexico. So Canadians are seeking to continue traveling overall. It's just that it may shift from the U.S. to other leisure destinationsThere is definitely a reaction in travel between the U.S. and Canada.
Travel industry leaders are taking notice: theyre seeing the writing on the wall.?
Hawaiian tourism officials expressed concern this week over receiving emails from Canadian travelers apologizing for canceling their travel plans, wondering how the Canadian freeze will impact the states tourism this year.
Tourism Economics, part of Oxford Economics, also warned that a trade war has high-risk consequences for the industry. International arrivals could drop over 15 percent this year, with a $72 billion loss in travel spending from international travelers.
$72 billionand thats not even including what were set to lose with the Canadian boycott on American products.
Trumps War on Immigration Is Warring With The American Travel Industry?
Trump has declared a war on illegal immigration, invoking the Alien Enemies Act. However, his administration has been trying to deport legal residents, those with green cards or work visas.?
Jasmine Mooney has been one of the most popular names among those unrightfully and unlawfully detained. She, a Canadian with no criminal record and with a legitimate work visa, was detained by ICE while entering the U.S. from Canada. She sat in a holding facility for two weeks and detailed her experience to warn others.?
Why is this an issue for the travel industry? Because its no longer just impacting people with visas or the undocumented.?
Britain and Germany were the first countries this week to issue updated travel advisories for their people heading to the United States after numerous reports of their citizens being detained and sent back to their home countries. One German man, according to Reuters, continues to be detained after he tried entering the country with a green card.?
One German, Lucas Sielaff, who spent 16 days in a detention center after trying to re-enter the United States from Mexico with his American fiancee, told the Associated Press he is experiencing mental health issues from the trauma, nightmares and the like.
Nobody is safe there anymore to come to America as a tourist, he said.?
The French Education Ministry reported that a French scientist was disallowed from entering the United States this week when border officials searched his phone (which, without a warrant, is unlawful) and found messages that exhibited disagreement with some of Trumps policies (which, if true, is a direct violation of the mans freedom of speech).?
If both cases are true, then we now have a government in which disagreement with those in power is grounds for denial of entry and even deportation.?
Other countries are taking notice.
Canadian parliamentarian Charlie Angus has been a vocal supporter of the Canadian freeze on American goods and travel.?
Following the news about the Frenchman being denied entry, he said, We know if [Trump] can get away with this, there's no reason that a Canadian, or a German, or someone from the UK isn't going to be picked up and deported to some El Salvadoran concentration camp.?
"Because that is what's happening in the United States with the complete abdication of the rule of law," he added. "Canada is a country of the rule of law, Canada is a country of democracy. Canada must stand firm at this time. I urge people not to travel to the United States, but to keep the boycott, keep strong, because Canada will never kiss that gangster's ring."
No matter what political affiliations you might possess, we all agree that these are strong words.?
And words have a big impact.?
Another Trump Travel Ban Is on Its Way
Weve also received reports that Trump intends to add a travel ban for travelers from certain countries. Reports state that the list may be as long as 41 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Cuba, and North Korea.?
Other countries are being considered to partially suspect tourist and student visas.?
While this is certainly something yet to come, some nations are pushing back, including those from the Caribbean. Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Dominica, Haiti and Saint Kitts and Nevis have all been essentially short-listed for some sort of travel ban.?
Antigua and Barbuda reported deep concern, while Dominica expressed a willingness to discuss any potential changes.?
American Aviation Seemingly Falls Apart
To make matters worse, there have been near misses, collisions and accidents among American aircraft pretty much every week since Trump took office, including a deadly collision in Washington, D.C. that killed 67 people.?
It was an accident which might have been prevented had the regions air control towers not been understaffed.
A lot of people are now questioning the safety of the nations airspace and airlinesand that means some people wont fly at all out of fear.?
Its not just that some people might not fly at all this year. Its worse: Trump and his non-governmental DOGE tried illegally firing employees at the Federal Aviation Administration. You know, the people who ensure our airspace is safe and investigate any strange occurrences or accidents??
We already have an air traffic controller shortage; firing any more aviation workers could lead to more accidents. Around 400 people were fired from the FAA, including those in positions of ensuring safety.
While a court ordered that the government needs to rehire the 20,000+ government employees that were fired by DOGE illegally, its unclear whether the government has complied with that order.?
Trump Is Bad for Business. Period.
Tariffs, talk of annexing sovereign countries, travel bans and increasingly volatile deportation measures all create an economy of fear.?
The more travelers who are afraid to visit the United States (or, like Canadians, who feel anger over the cutting of amiable ties with tariffs and talks of annexation), the less tourists well receive.?
The less international tourists well receive, the less money we will make, the worse our hotels will do and the more jobs we will lose.?
Its a domino effect, after all. And somehow, in just a matter of a few weeks, Trump has managed to knock a few dominos down, creating a ripple effect in our own industry that will be felt for months and potentially years to come.?
So what can we do as members of the industryas people who believe that travel is a force for good in a nation in which travel seems increasingly fraught with danger, either real or perceived??
Ill leave it to you to find your answer.
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