Travel Ban adds uncertainty to US tourism – Twissen Season Report Winter 2017

The recent measures implemented by US President Trump generated several controversies. In particular, the so-called Executive Order 13769, namely the Travel Ban, provoked many discomforts among the travellers coming from the 6 listed Countries: Syria, Somalia, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Yemen. The Travel Ban also raised some concerns, now becoming reality, among the players of the Travel & Tourism industry. Numbers speak for themselves: taking as an example the business travel segment, starting from January the bookings in this sector experienced a loss of about 172 million euros only in the week following the enactment of the Travel Ban, as reported by the Global Business Travel Association. FowardKeys’ analysis report a 6,5% loss in air tickets bookings towards the United States at a global level, and a predictable –80% from the aforementioned Countries.

For some States of the federation, the Travel Ban was hard to swallow. In California, San Francisco registered a 45% loss of the researches of flights towards the city. The reaction of the Hawaiian Government was determined: in 2016, the Country welcomed 8,9 million tourists which generated a 15 billion euros tourism expense and, according to the Government, the Travel Ban is going to compromise the profitable incomings that the destination has been registering, along with the reputation of a Country perceived as welcoming.

According to Tourism Economics, this year the United States could register a loss of 4,3 million tourists and of 7 billion euros in tourism expense. On the other hand, as reported by Hopper, the researches of flights from Russia to the United States grew by 88%, proving how the Travel & Tourism industry is influenced by the international political dynamics.

The Travel Ban adds further uncertainty to the US tourism that, in the last years, had to face terrorism attacks and internal unrests, such as the Orlando shooting, which also compromised the LGBT segment’s trust towards the Country.

In the Report you can also find about:

• It’s time for Bota!
• Wi-Fi on board, now also in airplanes
• Mega Online Travel Retailers VS Travel Market Platforms
• Indian Summer
• Cruises: innovation through product
• Mobile is the strategy
• Emerging destinations compete for cycling tourists
• Student travel: a profitable target for hotels and OTAs
• Travel Ban adds uncertainty to US tourism

Twissen