Travelsmart
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Nearly 1 in 5 European travel professionals surveyed by Global Business Travel Association report that their company has already cancelled business travel to the U.S. in the wake of the travel ban. The GBTA polled its U.S. and European members this week to assess the business travel impact of President Trump’s revised executive order on travel.
Nearly four in 10 (37%) U.S. business travel professionals say they expect some level of reduction in their company’s travel because of the revised executive order. Close to half (47%) of European travel professionals polled agreed that they expect some level of reduction in business travel for their company.
Some 38% of European business travel professionals said their companies would be less willing to send business travellers to the U.S. in the future because of the executive order and 45% indicated their company will be less willing to plan future meetings and events in the U.S. “There is always the risk that closing our borders sends the message that the United States is closed for business, and the results of this poll show the perception of the United States as a welcoming destination for business travel has been altered,” said Michael W. McCormick. “As we always say, security is paramount, but GBTA continues to be a proponent for expanding proven security programs and developing new technology to facilitate information-sharing among governments to ensure travelers are always vetted properly, making us all more safe and secure.”
Additional findings from the polls:
. 44% of European travel professionals reported their organization currently has employees travelling abroad who might be or are affected by the current travel ban.
. 20% of European travel professionals reported there are directives within their organization to cancel or delay travel of employees who are nationals of countries included in the ban.
. U.S. travel professionals cited potential for countries to respond to this ban, making travel more difficult for U.S. travellers (51%), complications in travel to the United States (44%) and increased threats against U.S. travelers abroad (41%) as their top concerns for lasting impacts of the travel ban.
The GBTA says these numbers are all marginally down from its poll following the announcement of the first travel ban in January where they were at 63%, 56% and 54% respectively.
U.S. travel professionals expressed similar levels of support and opposition for the revised travel ban as they did for the original one. Just over half (52%) of the travel professionals surveyed strongly or somewhat oppose this action, while 35% strongly or somewhat support it, compared to 50% and 38%, respectively, in the initial poll.
When asked about top concerns regarding the immigration ban on travellers, increased traveller harassment in general (41%), uncertainty regarding green card and approved visa credibility to enter the U.S. (34%), and harassment of U.S. travellers to and from the Middle East (34%) topped the list. More than one-third (34%) said they didn’t share any of the concerns listed.
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