Arnie Weissmann
It's axiomatic that, to make an omelet, you have to break some (currently very expensive) eggs. A lot of eggs are being broken in Washington these days, and while the stated intention is to create a new and better omelet, it's nonetheless having a negative impact on travel companies -- and the pain likely won't be short-term.
Slashing programs like USAID may not appear to have a direct connection with the travel industry, but I've had a few conversations with industry players this month that reflect deep concern.
Shannon Stowell, CEO of the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), whose membership represents a $683 billion slice of global travel and tourism, had plans for 2025 development projects in the Balkans, the Middle East/North Africa region, Latin America and Central Asia that were at least partially funded by USAID but have, for now, been canceled.
"The defunding threatens to undermine one of the most powerful economic generators on Earth," he said. Emerging destinations fuel the growth of the travel industry, and the evolution of a country from adventure travel to mainstream doesn't happen by accident.
The popularity of destinations like Cambodia, Peru and Croatia, for example, only occurred after improvements in standards, safety and quality provided confidence to U.S. and global travel companies to invest in marketing and product development. As their product lines expanded, travel advisors were among the beneficiaries.
The benefit is bilateral, in the sense that it provides jobs both in the destination and the U.S. Stowell also said that another industry benefit from USAID projects he has been involved with is that they focus on responsible tourism development. Conservation and cultural preservation are prioritized, and plans are designed to specifically avoid the overtourism, economic leakage and environmental degradation that have plagued destinations that lacked comprehensive planning in their early stages of development.
Malia Asfour, managing director of the Jordan Tourism Board North America and the immediate past chair of the industry nonprofit Tourism Cares, said the impact of the cuts will be "quite extensive" to both organizations she's involved in.
USAID, working with Tourism Cares, has helped make emerging destinations around the world "tourism ready." As regards Jordan specifically, USAID assisted with its national tourism strategy and the discovery, restoration and management of important historical sites. "They have played a key role in tourism development and infrastructure," she said.
And while local communities have benefited, so have U.S.-based travel companies that launched or expanded operations in Jordan. Tourism from North America rose about 45% from 2016 to 2023, the year before the war in Gaza significantly impacted arrivals.
There are already signs that other eggs being broken in Washington are having an impact on travel and tourism. There is worry among economists that tariffs will increase inflation, which will first affect discretionary purchases like travel.
But beyond that, the ill will being generated by tariffs among our closest neighbors is already having an impact.
Stowell said that a Canadian delegation to a meeting ATTA is organizing dropped out. "They said it wasn't because they didn't want to attend, but they felt they had to take a stand against what they perceived as economic bullying," he said.
Although Canada is the No. 2 source market for New York, a joint marketing campaign between Air Canada and New York City Tourism and Conventions has been put on pause, given current Canadian sentiment toward the U.S.
Travel advisor Sanya Weston of Your Premier Travel Service contacted me last week to tell me that she had clients who canceled reservations to Mexico over concerns about how they would be welcomed.
Even more concerning to her was the withdrawal of support from longtime backers of a nonprofit she runs that provides under-resourced kids with travel opportunities. The former supporters declined to help fund a Youth Leadership Summit that would bring in young people from around the world to Detroit because "public spaces across our world are chaotic, volatile and unpredictable," and they expressed worry that "many of us, as well as potential international visitors," could be potential targets of violence.
The corrosive impact of fear on the travel industry has been well documented -- a terror attack can temporarily take a destination off the tourist map -- but I can't recall a time when worry without incident pre-emptively led people to change or cancel travel plans. I'm concerned that apprehension about how Americans will be received abroad will only increase in lockstep with heated rhetoric.
And one broken egg in particular may have a longer-lasting impact than any cited above: On Jan. 20, an executive order undid the U.S. government's commitment to navigate to net-zero carbon emissions. A previous directive instructed travel for federal employees to move in a sustainable direction, but that is now undone.
(Climate change, by the way, is not a hoax.)
A related note: Herb Hiller, 94, former cruise executive and longtime industry climate activist, died last month. We didn't always agree, but I'll miss his perspective.