U.S. tourism could be victim of travel ban

Sierra-at-Tahoe and other area ski resorts could be impacted if fewer tourists come to the United States. Photo Copyright 2017 Carolyn E. Wright

By Christopher Muther, Boston Globe

 President Trump’s travel ban targeting nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries may not have held up in court, but it appears quite successful at keeping plenty of other people out of the United States.

Trump’s order brought with it a swift decline in the number of worldwide tourists and travelers looking to visit the United States, say people in the tourism industry. Some say it could be as damaging to the U.S. tourism sector as the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Online booking websites reported that flight searches from international points of origin to the United States were down anywhere from 6 percent to 17 percent since Trump signed the executive order on Jan. 27. But experts say what’s more alarming is the icy message it sends to the world.

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