Travel agents report dip in US demand

Travel agents have reported a slight dip in demand for the US, with some receiving negative feedback on themed content posted on social media.

The Advantage Travel Partnership, Travel Counsellors and InteleTravel all noted some softening in demand for the US as the trade continues to monitor the potential fallout from the Trump administration’s policies and challenges around affordability.

Moseley Travel in Birmingham, Wiltshire-based Travel by Hannah and cruise specialist Magical Traveller also reported slowing momentum for the destination, with each citing customer concerns over the country’s political direction.

Kath McDonald, a member of Hays Travel’s Personal Travel Consultants network, said she had decided to stop posting US-themed content on social media because of the negative responses.

“I’m not booking many US trips at the moment because I don’t dare advertise them on social media,” she said, adding: “Ever since Trump came to power [in January], every post to do with US packages gets abusive comments on it.”

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Premier Travel agent Jules Taylor also said she had decided to avoid posting US content because she had heard of other agents “having issues”.

Moseley Travel manager Lianne Davenport said: “One customer said they had no plans to visit the US while Trump is still in office. That sentiment seems to be shared by a few others as well.”

Magical Traveller owner Kieran Eccles-Miller said he had been asked to cancel a US booking because the couple were worried about potential challenges entering the country and they were also concerned about policy changes led by Trump, including the rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.

“That is a genuine concern,” added the Bristol-based homeworker.

Despite some of the concern about the US, a number of agencies and specialist tour operators reported that demand remains strong for the destination.

Ocean Holidays co-chief executive Harry Hastings said: “We’ve seen growth in US revenue and fewer cancellations year on year up to March, despite increased departures.”

The US’ International Visitor Arrivals Program statistics pointed to a 17% year-on-year drop in arrivals from western Europe in March. 

However, USAirtours chief executive Guy Novik said the slump should not necessarily be viewed as a reaction to recent political or economic changes.

He added that most UK travellers book trips to the US between six months and two years in advance, so any negative reaction to Trump would not yet be picked up by the arrival numbers.

He also said UK travellers could benefit from the strong pound against the dollar, as well as the sharp fall in Canadian visitors to the US.

“I think we’ll see a softening in hotel prices until [Canadian] travel starts to pick up,” he added.

Jorge Franz, senior vice-president of tourism and industry relations at the Houston First Corporation, said “some concern” had been noted about travel to the destination, but there had not been any cancellations or falls in visitor numbers in the first six months of the year.

“We believe British travellers are very resilient and can differentiate between the political landscape and the America they will experience on the ground,” he added.

The Association of Touring and Adventure Suppliers (Atas) said its statistics for January and February suggested members’ bookings for the US were 2% down year on year, while Canada bookings were up 25%.

Additional reporting by Ella Sagar and Rhodri Andrews.

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