By Dee-Ann Durbin, Associated Press
Business trips to the United States fell 9% in April while businesses and workers faced economic uncertainty and anger against Trump administration’s prices and border policies.
The National Travel and Tourism Office published preliminary figures on Thursday showing the number of passengers of airlines and ships that entered the country last month using commercial visas.
The Middle East was the only region that saw higher companies going to the United States, with arrivals up 9.4% compared to April 2024. But that did not compensate for large losses from other regions; The number of business travelers from Western Europe fell by 17.7%, for example.
The new government data did not include people from Canada for business or who traveled by Mexico by field. Mexican arrivals by plane for those who have commercial visas fell 11.8%, the government said.
And Canada’s overall trips also fell in April. According to Statistics Canada, Canadian residents’ return trips by plane from the United States fell 20% in April, while traveling by car has dropped by 35%.
Business trips to the United States resisted better than leisure trips in the first quarter of the year. According to US government data, more than 1.2 million travelers entered the United States using commercial visas during the period of January-March, up 7% compared to the previous year. The number of travelers using tourist visas has dropped by 6%.
But it overturned in April because the late Easter holidays probably encouraged more leisure trips. Travel to the United States by international travelers with tourist visas increased by 13.8% in April.
We do not know if this trend will be held. Cirium, an aeronautical analysis company, said that an analysis of the online travel agency data indicated that the prior reservations of Europe at 14 US cities in June, July and August were down 12% compared to the same months of last year.
Several American airlines have drawn their financial forecasts for the year, invoking uncertainty and lower demand for leisure travelers at low rate. Many industry experts believe that business trips to the United States will continue to decrease in the coming months.
Leslie Andrews, the world trip of the real estate company JLL and a member of the Global Business Travel Association Foundation Board of Directors, said that she thought that business trips to the United States will slow down in the second and third quarters of the year while the full impact of economic and geopolitical volatility sets up.
“What I hear is:” Things were good in the first quarter “, but in the second quarter, is it a question of” should you make this trip? “” Said Andrews. “They shoot the reins a little to make sure that only determined trips occur as things grow and evolve.”
BT4EUROPE, a business travel association, said companies are increasingly wary of unpredictable procedures to enter the United States and the risk of detention, in particular for LGBTQ + individuals or those who have expressed political opinions on social networks.
Kevin Haggarty generally goes to the United States of Canada several times a year to attend fairs from Atlanta or Las Vegas or to visit suppliers in Los Angeles. But his concerns concerning the crossing of the border will prevent him from making these trips this year.
Haggarty, which has a company that sells gifts and memories, said Canadian retailers no longer wanted American manufacturing. Its American suppliers are struggling to stay afloat due to American prices on products manufactured in China. Above all, he is concerned about the reports of the detention of international travelers on the American border.
“Honestly, my nervousness and my reluctance to cross the United States come from that more than any hostility for the American market,” said Haggarty, who lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The CEO of the Global Business Travel Association, Suzanne Neufang said that a survey of more than 900 members of the association last month showed that almost a third expected a drop in world travel volumes this year.
Canadian members were the most pessimistic, 71% saying that they expect a drop in travel this year, Né Neufang said.
“Uncertainty is disturbing for a business travel sector that likes to be sure and likes to be effective,” she said.
A drop in business trips would represent a setback for American travel industry and cities that organize international conventions and trade fairs. The global sector of global travel of $ 1.6 Billion of dollars finally returned to normal after the Pandemic COVID-19. US commercial travel expenses reached pre-cook levels in 2023, said Neufang, while the rest of the world reached last year.
Brett Sterenson, president of lobbyists of the hotel, a Washington company that helps groups to book hotels for meetings and conferences, said that it was losing international affairs when some countries warn travelers not to visit the United States
US government cuts also harm business, Sterenson said. He works with several groups that offer international exchange programs through the State Department. The programs host travelers from Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and elsewhere and to share best practices on things such as energy policy and environmental management, he said. But with financing discounts, this part of his business is down 75%.
“These exchanges were monumentally useful for spreading good will, but also to educate developing countries on good governance,” said Sterenson.
Haggarty, in Canada, said that he had canceled a trip to a trade fair in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and said that several retailers he also worked with. He now turns to England, France, Spain and other markets for sale.
“It’s unfortunate. It is much easier to bring products to Canada in the United States, but we are in a corner,” he said. “I want people to know how much this administration is doing their relations in the world.”
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
