Skift Podcast: What Happens When Travel Meets Politics and Global Unrest

Skift Take

The travel industry wants an open, welcoming United States that invests in better infrastructure and security staffing. As election season drags on, are politicians listening?

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Compelling discussions with travel industry leaders and creatives who are helping to shape the future of travel.

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Last year, 75 million international tourists visited the U.S., and spending by domestic and inbound visitors amounted to nearly $950 billion.

But the travel and tourism industry still has challenges, notably fears about terrorism in the wake of attacks in Paris and Brussels and the massacre in Orlando this month — which took place after the recording of this podcast. Also potentially discouraging international travel are long security lines at airports, resistance to the visa waiver program, and the uncertainty of a looming — and often nasty — presidential election.

On today’s episode of the Skift podcast, we’re talking politics: What is the legacy of the Obama administration when it comes to travel, what hasn’t yet been accomplished, and what’s at stake for the industry as the country prepares to elect a new president?

Our guest is Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. He sat down with Skift podcast host Hannah Sampson in New York City at the site of the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference, where he was a speaker.

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