Industry fears another ‘Trump slump’ following historic election win

The poll result mirrors a like poll carried out by TTG in November 2016, in which around half of respondents said they felt their clients would be put off by Trump becoming president-elect.

Meanwhile, nearly a fifth (17%) of UK holidaymakers surveyed by Holiday Extras on the day the election was declared for Trump said they had already reconsidered plans to travel to the US.

The holiday essentials provider has since 2020 been conducting regularly polling on the factors most likely to result in them changing their travel plans over the coming year, with the latest data being the first time the election of a new president has come up as an issue.

Republican Trump stormed to victory over Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election (5 November) after securing key "swing" states such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The election of a new president, though, continues to rank behind the cost of living squeeze (45%), extreme weather (42%) and anti-tourist protests (40%) in the Holiday Extras data.

In the immediate aftermath, agents told TTG they felt the result could give UK travellers "pause for thought" when it came to travelling to the US, particularly those of colour or those from the LGBTQ+ community following a fractious election campaign characterised by inflammatory commentary.

Others, though, said they didn’t expect any signification implications for UK tourism to the US. Travel Village owner Phil Nuttall said history suggested ruling powers don’t tend to influence the majority of people’s travel decisions.

The UK’s new tourism minister, Labour’s Chris Bryant, played down the implications of another Trump presidency on demand from within the UK to visit the US in conversation with TTG at WTM London, speaking shortly after Trump’s win was confirmed.

From an inbound perspective, UKinbound chief Joss Croft told TTG the US was the UK’s most important source market "by a country mile" and that this wouldn’t change as a result of the election.

"There are common bonds there between the UK and the US," said Croft. "The UK is considered a safe destination for Americans so it doesn’t matter who the president is."

‘Tremendous opportunity’

US Travel Association president and chief executive Geoff Freeman said the organisation was looking forward to working with a new Trump administration "to make the United States the world’s top travel destination".

Freeman added there was "a tremendous opportunity ahead to maximise the competitive strength of the United States as a travel destination". "We stand ready to work with the new administration to realise America’s full potential," said Freeman.