Agents and operators are largely seeing positive sales to the US, buoyed by new flights and attractions – although costs continue to be a concern.
The trade is also reporting no real signs of any ‘Trump slump’ despite some alarm about his policies and comments.
Kelly Cookes, chief commercial officer at the Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “Overall, the US market is experiencing robust growth, with Orlando and New York leading the charge.
“Nashville is also seeing rising interest, driven by the growing popularity of country music.
“It continues to be a popular choice with new developments.”
Tricia Handley-Hughes, UK managing director at InteleTravel, said: “We can see a small decline of 5% to the US, but with the standard early peak, the focus would traditionally be on family holidays and free child places, mostly to the Mediterranean destinations.
“It’s hard to attribute the stats to the political landscape at this time.”
Guy Novik, founder and chief executive at USAirtours, commented: “While the current President would be the last face that most would choose as the American poster boy to encourage tourism, the bottom line is that both the cost and the spending money required for an enjoyable holiday has risen significantly in recent years.
“Despite seeing a fall in the average number of bookings per agency, our bookings are up 11% year-on-year since January because we’ve significantly grown the number of new agencies dealing with us, combined with winning back those agents who have lapsed.
“Enquiries for the same destinations remains as high before but conversion rate is down because a section of the market is looking for lower prices and may well have switched to destinations with weaker currencies.”
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Oliver Brendon, founder and chief executive at Attraction Tickets, reported a rise in bookings despite alarm at some of the “aggressive Trump rhetoric aimed at minority groups and traditional US allies in Europe and North America”.
“Demand for the major US theme parks in Orlando since the Trump inauguration has been around 20% higher than the same period in the previous year, off a significant base, fuelled predominantly by the forthcoming opening of Universal’s Epic Universe in May 2025,” he said, while noting bookings for the major US West Coast attractions such as Disneyland California and Universal Studios Hollywood are flat.
He also noted the impact of the exchange rate over recent years, with the weaker sterling after the 2016 Brexit vote and weakened UK economy.
Richard Wimms, managing director at Vacations to America, said sales remain in line with last year, although enquiry levels are slightly down.
“But the average booking value is higher – we may be slightly down on passenger numbers but the value overall is up,” he said.
“Clients are not saying they’re not going because of Trump, and agents are not mentioning it as a factor
“If there is any wider impact, it might be costs rather than Trump.”
James Mannings, chief executive and co-founder of Top Villas, said his company has seen a significant increase in US bookings, thanks to factors such as a stronger pound over the past year
“There has been an increase in flight availability and affordability, with many direct and connecting flights from the UK to Florida available, and new low-cost carriers like Norse Atlantic entering the market,” he added.
“Exciting new attractions are launching in popular US destinations, and theme parks continue to expand, with major additions such as Universal Epic drawing increased interest.”
However, members of the LGBTQ+ community may be more likely to travel elsewhere since Trump’s re-election, according to one specialist.
Darren Burn, founder of Out of Office, said: “Certainly LGBTQ+ specific safety and travel advice is important to our clients when choosing a destination and there will be inbound travellers to the US who reconsider their destination because of the new US government policies.
“This is bad for business and the economy too as LGBTQ+ travellers are proven to take more trips each year and spend more in destination on a trip which is why so many tourist boards have spent marketing dollars to attract this segment.”
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