The moment that stands out: Here tourists are fleeing Trump

Volodymyr Zelenskyj

The moment that stands out: Here tourists are fleeing the USA

Emil Forsberg

Published 18.58

The meeting between Trump and Zelenskyj is believed to have a major impact on US tourism. Photo: Mystyslav Chernov / AP

Tourism in the US plummets.

The meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyj is pointed out as the turning point.

– It affected many, says travel expert Per J Andersson.

US President Donald Trump Donald Trump has scared away European tourists, according to figures obtained by the Financial Times from the International Trade Administration.

Swedes' travel in March has fallen by 17 percent compared to the previous year, according to statistics.

In Norway, the decline is even greater.

Cowboyresor, which specializes in package tours to the US, saw the curve change overnight.

– We had extreme growth from January to this Oval Office debacle with Zelenskyj, says manager Christian Hammer Bolstad to Dagbladet.

He is referring to the meeting on February 28 when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj was mocked by Donald Trump and JD Vance

“Trump effect”

Travel expert Per J Andersson, who founded the travel magazine Vagabond, believes that the meeting has a big impact.

– I think it affected many. Everyone saw it. Then a feeling probably grew among many that it is not just one thing I dislike about this government and the president. It created a feeling of discontent with a president who behaved like a bully towards someone we in Europe support, he says.

“Travel to the US has declined over the past five or six years,” says a travel expert. Archive photo. Photo: John Minchillo / AP

The Swedish travel agency Ticket, which specializes in US travel, also states that travel has decreased by 30 percent in the first two months of the year, at the same time that Trump took power.

– Then you can suspect a Trump effect, says Per J Andersson.

The travel agency Swanson’s, which has arranged trips to the US since 1978, is also noticing the decline:

– Nothing was noticeable when Trump was elected, as it was last time. Nothing was noticeable when he was installed either. We entered this year with ten percent more bookings than the same time last year, but from the end of February there was a clear decline in new bookings, says founder Tommy Swanson.

Travel almost halved

Swanson also believes that the meeting with Zelenskyj is playing a role.

– I can imagine that is the case. I don't know if that was the last straw, but the US's stance on Ukraine may be a contributing factor.

In March, new sales of trips to the US have almost halved from the year before, he says.

- The US is our biggest market and has been for 40 years. Now we have to work harder and compensate by highlighting the trips we arrange to Canada, Asia and the Caribbean instead.

But there are also more reasons why Swedes choose not to travel to the US, according to travel expert Per J Andersson.

- Travel to the US has decreased in the last five or six years and then it has been because the dollar is so expensive. Now it has also become very expensive in the US with inflation and things like that play a role.

Do you think the reduced travel to the US will last?

- It may probably continue. Trump's position and the high prices interact. But despite that, the US has a strong position in Sweden as a country we look up to and dream of. One should not underestimate that power, despite Trump as a smolker in the cup.

         

          New York is a usually popular travel destination. Archive photo. Photo: Julia   

          Nikhinson /  AP