Beginning August 20, 2025, the Trump Administration will require some travelers to post bonds of up to $15,000 in good faith that they won¡¯t overstay their visitor visas, which will be eventually refunded back to them once they leave the United States.?
While the Department of State currently only lists two countries for the year-long pilot program¡ªMalawi and Zambia¡ªit¡¯s a concerning start to what could have far-reaching implications for the United States travel industry, especially if travelers from more countries are added to the list.?
Travelers from other countries are already choosing to visit elsewhere during the current Trump Administration more than they have in the recent past: his increasingly hostile immigration policies, continuing trade wars and disrespectful discourse about other sovereign nations has led many from Europe, Southeast Asia and Canada to choose not to visit, or even go so far as to boycott American goods, services, companies and yes, travel.?
Since Trump took office, the United States has seen declines in international travel, during a year when the rest of the world is experiencing a banner year.?
Data from Canada show that Canadians, a major source market for the United States, are staying strong in their boycott of the U.S., with air returns and border crossings decreasing dramatically each month since President Trump took office, sometimes by as much as a third.?
And international arrivals by plane have dropped 11 percent from March 2024, according to International Trade Administration data.?
Nearly 80 percent of travelers from Southeast Asia agree that the United States is ¡°losing its appeal¡± as a destination.?
International travelers injected $254 billion into the US economy last year. The World Travel & Tourism Council predicts that the U.S. could lose $12.5 billion this year alone due to the loss of Canadian visitors, not to mention the thousands of jobs that rely on our international friends coming to visit.?
Now, more travelers from other countries have to fear being responsible for paying a very hefty lump sum just to visit the United States¡ªbecause let¡¯s face it, this administration has been anything BUT predictable. Who¡¯s to say the administration won¡¯t expand it to other countries, too, effectively limiting all but the wealthiest individuals in the world from visiting the U.S.?
Uncertainty in the travel industry is like ice forming on top of a lake: it cools off everything beneath it, slowly leeching into every facet of the industry, slowing fish, hastening turtles into slumber and freezing the growth of frogs and tadpoles.?
We¡¯ve seen some frosty days thus far, and the shallowest parts of the lake, the ones closest to the edge, are already freezing.?
Making the nation harder to visit will not make the nation great again¡ªit¡¯ll only put us back years in lost revenue (the travel industry was just on the cusp of recovering from the pandemic, and now that isn¡¯t likely to happen soon), lost employment and lost opportunities.?
Isolation is frigid¡ªtoo cold for growth, progress or vitality. The Trump Administration is one step closer to willfully isolating the nation.
For the travel industry, we might as well be entering a proverbial winter should this program find its footing and expand.?
I sincerely hope that the industry will push back on this pilot program and advocate for a friendlier policy that not only supports the industry we have, but a policy that also doesn¡¯t discriminate based on wealth or country of origin.?
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