President Trump: The Travel Industry Reacts With Caution, Not Enthusiasm
Skift Take
One of the most controversial presidential campaigns in U.S. history is over (we think). You would think having a hotel operator in office would thrill the industry. So far that's not the case at all.
Republican Donald Trump's surprise election as president of the U.S. and Democrat Hillary Clinton's defeat shocked the world — and left the global travel industry scurrying to gather itself and look for answers.
No one can forecast the future, but at a minimum, there are concerns that new U.S. security policies could hinder immigration and inbound tourism from Mexico. A U.S. ban on Muslim visitors could cost $71 billion and up to 132,000 jobs annually, according to Euromonitor, and an economic downturn could leave Americans with less discretionary income to spend on vacations, both domestic and abroad.
As we did after the pro-Brexit vote in the UK, Skift reached out to travel industry leaders and influencers for their takes on the U.S. election. Reactions ranged from candor on the part of the Expedia CEO, who said the election showed how "disconnected" tech leaders are from the rest of the country, to Euromonitor's view that Trump's nativist rhetoric could provide opportunitie
