The travel company Frommer’s has revealed the shocking effect Donald Trump’s election has had on tourism in America, an industry that contributed 1.47 trillion dollars to GDP in 2014. Frommer’s reports that,
“Experts across the travel industry are warning that masses of tourists are being scared away from visiting the United States, and the loss of tourism jobs could be devastating.”
The phenomenon is being called the ‘Trump Slump’ because it is a direct result of Trump’s election and policies, most notably his now defunct ‘Muslim-ban’ which blocked travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries. Tourism from the countries that were affected is down 80% despite the ban being lifted.
Even countries without a significant Muslim population are sending fewer tourists. Right now all foreign tourism is down nearly 7%. Online searches for flights from foreign countries to America have fallen by 17%, according to Frommer’s.
This is not restricted to holiday-makers. During the first week of the Muslim-ban foreign business travel dropped by an astounding 185 million dollars. European flight searches for the United States have dropped by 11.6%, according to Forbes.
If this trend continues, the U.S. will lose billions of dollars of foreign tourism and hundreds of thousands of American jobs in industries ranging from restaurants and hotels to transportation and stores.
Trump’s “America first” attitude and rhetoric are making foreigners feel unwelcome. By ignoring America’s deep and inextricable involvement in a globalized economy, Trump is sacrificing a tremendous amount of money that boosts GDP and employs hundreds of thousands of citizens within America’s borders.
Trump has been focusing on saving domestic manufacturing jobs a few hundred at a time, but he needs to consider the larger picture. Globalization supports a large chunk of the American population and neglecting global ties will ultimately harm those people.
Trump’s misguided policy ideas stem from a profound ignorance of America’s role in the world. His ineptitude is already on track to wreak havoc on the U.S. economy.
Courtesy: occupydemocrats.com