Travel ban costs:
Foreign visitors provide bountiful business for USA, but Trump’s orders might make people rethink their trip
About 4.3 million fewer foreign travelers will visit the U.S. this year because of Trump administration policies, a revenue loss of $7.4 billion, an analysis by Tourism Economics reports.
President Trump’s temporary travel ban and an inhospitable political climate could punch an $18 billion hole in U.S. tourism by international visitors over the next two years, projections by travel analysts show.
Foreign tourism is a $250 billion-a-year business in the United States, and Trump's original and revised executive orders temporarily banning travel from majority Muslim countries — put on hold by federal courts — have dampened interest worldwide in visiting the U.S., travel and tourism executives told USA TODAY.
“The U.S. has put an unwelcome mat at our front door,” said Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group, which studies travel.
Precipitous declines in airline bookings followed the travel ban announcements Jan. 27 and March 6, and hotels reported less traffic in February.
About 4.3 million fewer international travelers would visit the USA this year because of the bans, a revenue loss of $7.4 billion, according to Tourism Economics of Wayne, Pa. An additional 6.3 million visitors and $10.8 billion that they would have spent would be lost in 2018, it estimated.
“‘America first’ rhetoric, which was pronounced during the campaign and Trump’s inauguration speech, is finding consistent expression in policy,” said Adam Sacks of Tourism