The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) predicts that European companies will plan significantly less meetings in the U.S. as a result of the Trump administration’s revised travel ban.
According to a GBTA poll, about four in 10 (37 percent) of U.S. business travel professionals expect some level of reduction in their company’s travel due to the executive order, while 47 percent of European travel professionals feel this way. That includes the 38 percent of European business travel professionals who said their companies would be less willing to send business travelers to the U.S. in the future, with about 45 percent indicating their company will be less willing to plan future meetings here. Even more, 17 percent of European travel professionals reported that their company has already cancelled business travel to the U.S., due to the orders issued.
Not only do travel professionals see the ban affecting tourism to the U.S., but also having the potential to affect American travelers abroad. About 51 percent of U.S. business travel professionals believe that countries will make it difficult for U.S. travelers as a response to the ban, with 44 percent believing it will enhance complications in travel to the U.S. and 41 percent believing it will increase threats against U.S. travelers abroad.
These latest findings from the GBTA are based on a poll of 176 U.S. travel managers and 148 European travel managers taken in early March. While these results aren’t exactly positive for American tourism, these numbers are marginally down from the GBTA’s poll taken right after the announcement of the first travel ban in January.
