More than one million UK travellers are set to reconsider the US as a holiday destination following the Trump presidential win, according to Travelzoo research.
And, if the election was voted for by Britons it would have been a triumphant win for Hillary Clinton – 52% would have voted for her, 15% would have voted for Trump, while a third (33%) would not have voted for either candidate.
Travelzoo UK managing director Joel Brandon-Bravo said: “At the end of last year, Travelzoo predicted 2016 would be the year of the US for UK travellers, and it seems we were right with the latest available figures for the first four months of the year showing a 3% rise in UK tourists to the country.
“But following confirmation of a win for Donald Trump in the presidential election today, we’re now forecasting an unstable 2017 for US tourism, with over one million UK travellers set to reconsider the country as a holiday destination.
Our research, conducted before the election, shows nearly a third (31%) of UK travellers will now reconsider travel to the US following a Trump win, while one in five (20%) will definitely not consider it as a travel destination.
“Other factors, such as the falling value of the pound and outbreaks of the Zika virus appear to have had little change on our desire to travel to the US, but today’s results look set to have an impact.
“And that could benefit Canada as a long-haul destination, with our latest trends research putting the country as the fourth most popular destination for Britons. We predict that those now reconsidering travel plans to the States could instead opt for Canada as their preferred travel destination.
“In terms of direct impact for British holidaymakers, most market commentators have been predicting a slump in the dollar – and even before Trump’s victory was confirmed, the value of the dollar was in free-fall across the global market.
We see this as a double edged sword for the UK economy; while on the one hand a continued slump may negate the impact of the pounds devaluation post Brexit, it may also deter US travellers from visiting the UK, something the industry here will need to address.”
Cosmos Tours & Cruises said it had received a handful of calls from concerned customers.
Chief executive Giles Hawke said one customer due to travel to the US next year had called the company today (Weds) to cancel their trip on the back of the US election result.
Another who was planning to book a trip to the States is now choosing a tour to Canada.
“I think there will be a lot of people that were considering the US and now think that’s not a place they want to go to anymore or will hold off and wait and see how it pans out,” Hawke said.
“I think we will see a surge in bookings to Canada next year for those customers still wanting a North American experience.”
Funway Holidays managing director Stephen Rhodes said the operator had not received any calls from concerned customers and future bookings were more likely to depend on what Trump does when he’s in office.