Travel group giant Expedia says President Donald Trump’s immigration policies are driving down travel prices and hurting the industry, the Financial Times reports.
"I think that because of some of the perceived positions coming out of the current administration, the U.S. as a destination is potentially looking less attractive as a product," said Dara Khosrowshahi, Expedia’s CEO. "One of two things is going to happen. Either the U.S. has to go on sale in order to keep volumes up, or volumes are going to come down. When we look at our business, the leading indicator is pricing. Pricing has come down."
Airline bookings into the U.S. were down by 6.5 percent the week after Trump rolled out his first travel ban in January according to travel software group ForwardKeys, and in February, United, American and Delta saw an average 2.5 percent drop in revenue passenger miles.
The World Travel and Tourism Council also said inbound travel looks less certain going forward, with anti-foreign sentiment one of the reasons.
"The U.S. overall is still 20 percent of the travel and tourism industry – so it is huge and we see a certain slowing this year," David Scowsill, CEO and president of the WTTC, told CNBC last week.
"Less to do with the Trump-proposed travel ban, but more to what's going on domestically, with inflation, with disposable income going down a little bit – so that's the big impact. Inbound to the U.S., it's the strength of the dollar, so it's much more expensive for people to go this year – so you'll see some effect of that, and the Trump ban is not helpful," he added.
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