viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1368245

In the above thread about how the USA might be considering forbidding inbound international passengers from using electronic check-in, user ACCS300 wrote:

I can't believe how many of my Canadian friends are choosing to avoid travel, especially air, to the USA. Everyone I know is spending their travel dollars in Europe or Mexico, not that there's any great fear but just the chance of being made to feel uncomfortable or intimidated, on what is otherwise supposed to be an enjoyable experience, is a huge turnoff for many of us here in Canada.

I personally feel the same way. The possibility of an unpleasant border experience is a strong demotivator for me. I will go for work, or for an important event with friends/family. Otherwise, for my own leisure, I am not going. I also avoid transiting through the USA.

I'm curious to hear from other non-US citizens. Do you feel that the DHS, TSA, and CBP have caused you to reconsider your leisure travel plans, or do you feel that nothing has changed for you?

My father and sister renewed their visas this year, no extra hassle (just the usual). My gf traveled this year and the whole experience was very normal. Even with the ever-annoying US customs and immigration shenanigans and possibility of an electronics ban (avoided by the Argentinian govt. thank god) I'm still planning on flying again.

I thought I wouldn't fly this year, but it's very unlikely I'll have to face problems when entering the USA.

We are returning in October for a family wedding in BOS. Without this, the USA wouldn't have been our first travel option (and we plan on spending most of the trip in Canada anyway). We enjoyed the east coast last year, but it was at the end of 44's term.

However, as a very WASP family, I don't expect any border issues.

Well, I'm an American citizen and have family here. But I just returned to the US and the citizens, residents and esta line was very long. 55 minutes and that's with cutting in line so I could catch my flight, which I could still do unlike... most people there apparently.

ATL F

Would avoid the US otherwise if there was a laptop ban. Also, wouldn't connect internationally in the US

I've been once by car and once by air recently. CBP are just as disinterested and have caused me no issue.

It's certainly made significant moves down the list of potential travel destinations.

dc9northwest wrote:

Well, I'm an American citizen and have family here. But I just returned to the US and the citizens, residents and esta line was very long. 55 minutes and that's with cutting in line so I could catch my flight, which I could still do unlike... most people there apparently.

It's interesting to hear that US citizens also can have less than stellar experiences. I am Canadian, and I don't much like our agents either.

My #1 issue is the borderline (pun intended) invasive questions, but my #2 complaint is the lineups. I've stood for over 90 minutes, on hard tile floor, waiting at pre-check in YYC. I've missed connections because of long waits in the USA. At least where/when I've been, there's been no separate lineup for connecting passengers versus those arriving at their final destination.

As to the invasive questions, they usually have to do with medical history. I truly have no idea why they ask. While I understand the "right" of the CBP agent to ask, that doesn't change the fact that I strongly dislike answering. I feel that some things should be only between my doctor, my wife, and myself. Putting aside any hypotheticals, for me this is a very real discouragement to visiting. I have never had these questions from any other country.

Has anybody else had invasive questions re their medical history?

Global Entry/NEXUS are your friends. $99 for 5 years of avoiding this "hassle" is small potatoes

jnev3289 wrote:

Global Entry/NEXUS are your friends. $99 for 5 years of avoiding this "hassle" is small potatoes

Worth it for a regular traveler, yes. I'm thinking more of people whose travel is mostly leisure.

Anecdotally, I've heard from lots of my Canadian friends that they are skipping the USA when making vacation plans. For short trips, they're choosing Mexico and the Caribbean. In the past, these same friends would have been more likely to choose somewhere like San Francisco or Las Vegas. I am curious to hear from others, who I don't know personally. So far, on a.net, you've mostly been ambivalent, and feel unaffected. Of course, I expect a.net might also be populated by people who fly more often than average.

I'm a US citizen. But frankly, if I were not and I were hearing the things coming out of USA these days, I would not be picking the US as a travel destination until I had exhausted a lot of other choices.

I dunno. In general we're a pretty friendly lot, and the odds of any real issue at the border aren't much worse than anywhere else. But, hey, it's your choice not to come to the US. Lots of other beautiful places on the planet, and if you ever change your mind, we'll still be here - generally with a cold beer and a smile waiting for you.

Yes, we are avoiding the US. Even if my twin brother lives there.

It makes no difference to me. I will return, potentially even this year, I have always allowed for extra time when arriving into the USA, and where possible I overnight. I'm white and english speaking so provided I leave my politics at the border I will be fine. And yes it is perverse that I have to say that as a reason I can still travel there.

Hey guys,
I am planning one trip to the US next year to cash in my Virgin Australia Velocity FFP before anything can happen to them or VA stop transpacific flights ...
It will be a long long long desired trip purely to Seattle to the Boeing factory - #1 on my bucket list. Taking my kids with me. Possibly doing a side trip to visit some distant relatives in the South...
Apart from that, I have absolutely NO desire to travel for leisure to the US. So many other parts of the world attract me more. The well-aired difficulties of crossing US borders makes the US even less attractive to me. Plus stories I hear that make me less likely to want to travel there, for example from a close business colleague I work with daily who was in Times Square when the man deliberately ran down pedestrians there recently... (mind you, that happened in Melbourne three months ago when I was within a couple of kilometres of the place that it happened!)
Interestingly, I have noticed a much greater advertising push here in Australia for the US as a tourist destination. Obviously tourism must be hurting.
I know so many people who have dropped the US, and especially Hawaii, from their leisure travel plans. I know of two families who are travelling to Disneyland between now and the end of the year and another three families that switched their plans from Disneyland to holidays in Japan (skiing instead), Paris (for EuroDisney) or Hong Kong (for the anaemic HK Disneyland) instead because of their perceived fears about flying to the US and terrorist threats. I know of two couples who were planning to fly to Hawaii together and changed their plans to the Cook Islands instead (huge advertising push here at the moment for Raratonga flights from Sydney on Air New Zealand) specifically because the last time they flew their a year ago they hated the hassle of border control and now they say it would be even worse. I personally found Hawaii inferior to just about any tropical island / destination I have been too - even Far North Queensland I felt was better - and have no desire to return there.
One day I would like to go to Washington DC, NYC, the Grand Canyon. Victorville, Mojave Desert and maybe some other places that appeal to me. But the desire to go to them has certainly deeply declined with all the perceived difficulties of entering the US. I have some distant relatives too who live in the US... and even their persistent invitations to visit and enjoy their hospitality aren't appealing enough to make me want to fly Sydney-Dallas on the big red roo...
On the other side, credit must go to the US Government for protecting it's borders so effectively but what a price the US has had to pay.
Cheers
Bunumuring

I don't think simply placing one's head in the sand and avoiding the US really does much except make you potentially miss out on experiences which you can have in the US.

We are living in the world that has increased security and political issues so nations adjust. Its always been a process of jumping through one hoop or the other to enter various nations including the US anyhow, so personally, I don't have an issue with rumored new proposals.

Ultimately I would rather travel to the US before visiting many dozen other nations.

mercure1 wrote:

I don't think simply placing one's head in the sand and avoiding the US really does much except make you potentially miss out on experiences which you can have in the US.

We are living in the world that has increased security and political issues so nations adjust. Its always been a process of jumping through one hoop or the other to enter various nations including the US anyhow, so personally, I don't have an issue with rumored new proposals.

Ultimately I would rather travel to the US before visiting many dozen other nations.

As a middle-aged Canadian, it's like I used to have a good neighbour, and there was no fence between our yards. There was just a line, defined only by the lawnmower. One day a fence went up, then a hedge was planted. Then came guard dogs and an electrified fence. I wouldn't say I'm so much head-in-the-sand, but rather I'm feeling like my formerly friendly neighbour is now treating me like an enemy. I realize my response is emotional. For better or worse, we humans are emotional creatures, and I know I am not alone.

BTW, I just came back from a trip to Alaska. In this case, I went for family reasons. The trip was overall fantastic, and Glacier Bay National Park was incredible! But, lining up for nearly 2-hours to see the US CBP agent, and the unnecessarily invasive questions, definitely tainted experience.

aerolimani wrote:

mercure1 wrote:

BTW, I just came back from a trip to Alaska. In this case, I went for family reasons. The trip was overall fantastic, and Glacier Bay National Park was incredible! But, lining up for nearly 2-hours to see the US CBP agent, and the unnecessarily invasive questions, definitely tainted experience.

This is interesting. We entered the USA via JFK last December and had no more issues than we've had in any other country - possibly easier than a couple of SIngapore-Malaysia land crossings have been. We're entering via BOS on our next trip, but looping via road into Quebec and then back into the USA from Ontario. I hope the experience isn't too bad.

bunumuring wrote:

Hey guys,
Plus stories I hear that make me less likely to want to travel there, for example from a close business colleague I work with daily who was in Times Square when the man deliberately ran down pedestrians there recently...

That one was a heavily intoxicated driver, nothing deliberate opposed to the recent attacks in London.

I also avoid transiting through the USA, and very rarely go there for leisure. It is often far cheaper to transit through a US hub (SEA, SFO, or LAX) travelling to Europe, the South Pacific, or Asia from my home. I will pay the premium to go through YVR or another Canadian hub. While I have never personally had a problem at the US border, I don't see the benefit in transiting through yet another border crossing and the potential stress and delays that could bring on, particularly a country known to suddenly change it's entry and security laws, throwing it's system into turmoil. Also as I travel with a DSLR camera, I definitely don't want to find myself on the wrong side of some sudden electronics ban.

Yes, I'm choosing not to travel to the US, been there many times, had fun, good memories and that's it. Too much hassle now, I'd rather go somewhere else thank you very much.

For all the belly aching here, the fact show international arrival up yet again this year to the U.S.

Jan-May international visitor arrivals are up 1.8%.

LAXintl wrote:

For all the belly aching here, the fact show international arrival up yet again this year to the U.S.

Jan-May international visitor arrivals are up 1.8%.

It's a little soon to say, don't you think? Many early 2017 trips would have been planned since before the election. An interesting statistic to note is in the first quarter of 2017, online searches for travel to the US were down 6% versus the same time last year.

There's no need to accuse anyone of bellyaching. Personally, I have my reasons, and I think they're valid. Just like I don't eat spinach salad because I don't like the way it makes my teeth feel.

Anyhow… I didn't start this thread to debate the existence of the Trump slump. I was just curious what personal choices other people are making. A person's choice to visit the USA, or not, is their own choice to make.

ogre727 wrote:

Yes, we are avoiding the US. Even if my twin brother lives there.

Why?

I live in the US so it's hard to avoid for me.

However, CBP agents act differently at different airports. I've found the best/nicest to be at SFO and DEN. EWR and IAD had normal acting people for agents, and IAH is the worst of the gateways I've travelled through. The agents here are the rudest I've encountered as a passenger and airport employee.

Yes. I've spent too much time in the Middle East including Iran and I just don't want the hassle as well as one of my employees has dual Iraqi citizenship. I halted a sizeable project in the US, moving the investment to Australia instead and and will be withdrawing all my business once I'm able to.

11725Flyer wrote:

ogre727 wrote:

Yes, we are avoiding the US. Even if my twin brother lives there.

Why?

It's a fair question. Its a combination of things. I strongly dislike Trump, and what he is doing with the travel bans, etc. I don't like the "tone" of politics in the US right now, I feel like people are willing to express xenophobic, racist, homophobic opinions more than before (like London, where I live, but I don't have an option, I live here). I dread going through immigration. Dunno, just many things but Trump is definitely a part of it.

We elected to go to Japan this year, and were we right about that choice! In fact we might go again early next year.

Tbh Europe is much better in the summer than the US for millions of people, so that might be a factor. Why do you think ATH gets several flights a day in the summer to the US, Canada and Asia and at any other time it gets nothing? So many places in Europe have several summer flights a day. Personally I choose not to fly to the US because otherwise I'll have to live on a bench.

Could we just deport trump to whatever planet he came from ? he is a disgrace to humanity

Do I avoid the US? No, but the country certainly hasn’t made itself more attractive as a tourist destination lately. Apart from the usual annoying things about the US (pricetags that don’t show what you have to pay (and at restaurants I somehow have to pay the staff), still using an old antiquated system of measurements and lack of decent public transportation), there are some recent developments that are more than just annoying. And an electronics ban on flights to the US would make a trip across the pond out of the question. I won’t travel without my camera, phone and computer.

Other things to consider are: Having to deal with rude border guards who wants to look in my phone and computer. Risk having my valuables stolen by the TSA when going home. Risk being shot by the police for reporting a crime, or during a traffic stop. Those are things that a bit more than just annoying. I realise that as a white European I’m probably in less risk of trouble. But the risk still feel high enough to just not ignore it. And when planning a holiday, a country that makes you feel welcome rather than treating you as a potential terrorist will have an advantage. That being said, most americans I’ve met have been wonderful persons. But I think I’m starting to understand what Leonard Cohen meant when he wrote ”I love the country but I can't stand the scene”.

And I would never do international transfer in the US. I’m in the early stages of planning a trip to South America and when I was looking at flights, the cheapest alternative was with AA via DFW. But I rather spend a bit more and transfer in EZE instead, where I won’t have to apply for an ESTA/Visa. And an airport that, as far as I know, allows international transfer. Or spend some more and get a direct flight from Europe.

Bostrom wrote:

Do I avoid the US? No, but the country certainly hasn’t made itself more attractive as a tourist destination lately. Apart from the usual annoying things about the US (pricetags that don’t show what you have to pay (and at restaurants I somehow have to pay the staff), still using an old antiquated system of measurements and lack of decent public transportation), there are some recent developments that are more than just annoying. And an electronics ban on flights to the US would make a trip across the pond out of the question. I won’t travel without my camera, phone and computer.

Other things to consider are: Having to deal with rude border guards who wants to look in my phone and computer. Risk having my valuables stolen by the TSA when going home. Risk being shot by the police for reporting a crime, or during a traffic stop. Those are things that a bit more than just annoying. I realise that as a white European I’m probably in less risk of trouble. But the risk still feel high enough to just not ignore it. And when planning a holiday, a country that makes you feel welcome rather than treating you as a potential terrorist will have an advantage. That being said, most americans I’ve met have been wonderful persons. But I think I’m starting to understand what Leonard Cohen meant when he wrote ”I love the country but I can't stand the scene”.

And I would never do international transfer in the US. I’m in the early stages of planning a trip to South America and when I was looking at flights, the cheapest alternative was with AA via DFW. But I rather spend a bit more and transfer in EZE instead, where I won’t have to apply for an ESTA/Visa. And an airport that, as far as I know, allows international transfer. Or spend some more and get a direct flight from Europe.

Thanks for the Leonard Cohen quote. It warms my little Canadian heart.

I'm not sure where you're flying from, but perhaps you could consider MEX. For citizens of quite a few countries, Mexico allows visa-free transit to another international destination. MEX has good connections to all of Latin America. https://world.aeromexico.com/en/travel- ... o/?site=us The only problem I could foresee at MEX is if you had to change terminals. That would be less convenient. AeroMéxico, Aeromar, Delta Air Lines, and Copa are in Terminal 2. Everyone else is at Terminal 1.

aerolimani wrote:

Thanks for the Leonard Cohen quote. It warms my little Canadian heart.

I'm not sure where you're flying from, but perhaps you could consider MEX. For citizens of quite a few countries, Mexico allows visa-free transit to another international destination. MEX has good connections to all of Latin America. https://world.aeromexico.com/en/travel- ... o/?site=us The only problem I could foresee at MEX is if you had to change terminals. That would be less convenient. AeroMéxico, Aeromar, Delta Air Lines, and Copa are in Terminal 2. Everyone else is at Terminal 1.

You're welcome! It's one of favourite songs by Cohen.

The planned route is ARN-SCL. I believe it has boiled down to three alternatives, ARN-MAD-SCL with Iberia, ARN-CDG-SCL with Air France or ARN-FRA-EZE-SCL with Lufthansa and Air Canada. But the trip is in a very early stage of planning.

I flew down 17 times last year. This weekend will be my first trip since Trump's inauguration. I'm not expecting much change, I love spending time in the US. We'll see how pre-clearance goes this weekend and I'll go from there to see if it really is becoming a hassle to fly down or not.

with the Australian dollar highest against US dollar for over 2 years, travel from Australia to USA is booming. Catch is airfares are high when people want to travel, eg. Xmas (NOTE: in Australia summer school holidays run from early December to late January)

I have family in FRA. Last year I went there to visit took over an hour at customs they were asking everyone for there flight info on there return flight to the US not sure if it's normal or not I don't travel internationally often. I know the person that was picking me me up was getting very nervous and was paging my name while I was claiming my baggage of course mine was one of the only ones left since customs took so long.
Same family just came here last week said they had no issues at EWR when smooth and rather quickly.

I was just in the US for 3 weeks, I cleared customs at YYZ, nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Typical passport control in US have always been terrible, that being said I don't think it will get any worse.

Being a South American living in Japan I was confronted every year with the dilemma of flying back home through US and having a bad border experience or going trough Europe spending around 200$ more. Then 4 years ago while in the queue for the immigration in US I saw a border agent screaming the same question multiple times to an elderly Chinese man who obviously couldn't understand English (as if shouting would make him magically understand!) and being very rude to a woman who offered help translating. It was quite shocking and since then I have happily paid more to transit through Germany.

On the plus side I received my luggage twice with a note inside telling it was opened for security reasons and both times everything was still organized and in place. If wasn't for the note I wouldn't even know it was opened.

What are Level, BA, UA, AA, DE, LH, the Chinese airlines, DL, VA, etc doing adding flights from to the US to international destinations in 2017? Don't they know Trump was elected?

Bostrom wrote:

Do I avoid the US? No, but the country certainly hasn’t made itself more attractive as a tourist destination lately. Apart from the usual annoying things about the US (pricetags that don’t show what you have to pay (and at restaurants I somehow have to pay the staff), still using an old antiquated system of measurements and lack of decent public transportation), there are some recent developments that are more than just annoying. And an electronics ban on flights to the US would make a trip across the pond out of the question. I won’t travel without my camera, phone and computer.

Other things to consider are: Having to deal with rude border guards who wants to look in my phone and computer. Risk having my valuables stolen by the TSA when going home. Risk being shot by the police for reporting a crime, or during a traffic stop. Those are things that a bit more than just annoying. I realise that as a white European I’m probably in less risk of trouble. But the risk still feel high enough to just not ignore it. And when planning a holiday, a country that makes you feel welcome rather than treating you as a potential terrorist will have an advantage. That being said, most americans I’ve met have been wonderful persons. But I think I’m starting to understand what Leonard Cohen meant when he wrote ”I love the country but I can't stand the scene”.

And I would never do international transfer in the US. I’m in the early stages of planning a trip to South America and when I was looking at flights, the cheapest alternative was with AA via DFW. But I rather spend a bit more and transfer in EZE instead, where I won’t have to apply for an ESTA/Visa. And an airport that, as far as I know, allows international transfer. Or spend some more and get a direct flight from Europe.

Sounds like you just plain and simple don't like America. So "Trump" getting elected had nothing to do with your dislike, you just have blind dislike.

aerolimani wrote:

It's interesting to hear that US citizens also can have less than stellar experiences. I am Canadian, and I don't much like our agents either.

It's not just post-trump. CBP can be really unpleasant and for no good reason. In 2005, I went to London for a month to do an infectious diseases rotation. On return to DTW, I got hassled by CBP. Now, I was clean-cut, white, American born, and raised in Michigan, and I was graduating medical school the following week. I'm always super polite, smile, make eye contact, and cooperate.

"Why did you do this rotation in London? Is the University of Michigan Medical School not good enough?"
"You've traveled to the UK twice in the last three years. Why? What contacts do you have there? Are any of them Arab?"
"You don't look old enough to be a doctor. Can you prove you're a medical student?"
"You have a Jewish last name. Are you also an Israeli Citizen? Prove you aren't."

That last one pissed me off. I didn't let it show, but I wrote down the badge number and filed a formal complaint (religious discrimination). Between my graduation and move, I never did hear back about it. But I really thought I was going to get detained just for daring to be an American citizen who left his country for a month. But usually, I have no issues and they're polite and just review my passports and visas and then welcome me back.

I'm not planning to go to the US in the near future, though it's not because of Trump. I just visited America last year & having visited the country twice already I feel it's time to explore Europe or Australia or Asia (a bit closer to home).

We flew into JFK last month from Toronto. While our experience with the border guard was fine, we were in line almost 2 hours to get to him, as there were several other flights just landed that were going through customs at the same time, and many of those passengers were clearly getting extra attention.

We won't stop travelling altogether to the US, but this experience along with the potential for more intrusive inspections definitely is a discouraging factor.

Used to travel a couple of times a year on average from Europe. Not been back for almost 10 years now. Main issue was the "if you don't like it stay the hell out" attitude but can't remember any specifics. Laptop ban of any kind would preclude me from travelling pretty much anywhere.

To be fair I've had worse entry experiences in a few other countries. Didn't find the border / customs agents any more unfriendly than those in the UK so who am I to complain.

Flew to LAS and back from Canada a few days ago - security was really no different then it has over the last few years.

Going from Canada to LAS, laptop and liquids came out, tablets stayed in the bag. The only extra thing they asked for as to remove shoes.

Going from LAS back to Canada, everything stayed in the bag including liquids - I took my belt off and TSA said not to worry about it, but since it was already off - just to put it in my bag.

Now domestic flights within Canada can be a real pain. I took 4 domestic flights over the last few days as well and policies vary from airport to airport. One wants your shoes off, the next doesn't. One wants all electronics out, the next doesn't. One would think that consistency in security would be a much more effective approach to the "Tuesday is take your shoes off, leave them on for the rest of the week" kinda attitude these days.

Anyways, got another trip booked in a couple of weeks down south, so at the current moment, I will continue to enjoy visiting my adopted home.

My 2¢ here,

I am planning to go Alaska in February, and I planned and booked the flight many months ago. I booked it just after 45 was elected to the White House, and I would say this the American people and the American administration are two completely different things. Most people here in the UK, if they want to go the States they would, and just try and ignore 45 and his régime. Even at the start, the support for him was rare and I think there is lot of hot air here with a mixture security theatre.

There are some who said they wouldn’t go, but they are the people you wouldn’t expect to go to America because of the current American administration such as Asians (not just Muslims), Blacks and left-wingers.

The only main reason in the last six months for non going to States has been more to the falling pound and the strong dollar, although with recent weaking of greenback I think more would go to the States.

I've never been a fan of Trump and I don't care for America's gun laws, but I still love visiting the place. The people are great, the cities are amazing, and I have never had a less than excellent experience with border authorities.

I recently had to get a visa after visiting Iran for tourism. On one of the two occasions that it's been used there was a quick enquiry as to whether I had it as a result of a previous overstay on my ESTA, but when I mentioned my travels it was stamped, and handed back to me with a 'Have a good day' before I could barely finish the sentence- they really didn't care

The only country where I have ever had a horrific experience was in Israel, and that was before I started to seriously collect Islamic passport stamps. I can only describe their approach to visiters as inhumane.

I'm an immigration attorney. Frankly, I'm not seeing a downturn in the number of people coming into the US. This is great for my business! I am always getting calls from people here from the Middle East and South Asia wanting to invest their hard earned money in the US. Trump and his policies are not a deterrent to them. Increased scrutiny of Muslim travelers is not a deterrent to them. These people still realize that even though this administration is so anti-immigration, the US economy has been historically, the most stable economy. That is enough for them to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars here in a blink of an eye. They aren't looking for short term gains. They are looking to be here for the long term.

A lot of people can't fly via the US even if they wanted to, because of their policy of requiring everyone to go through passport control and customs. This affects a lot of people in Central and South America that want to go to Europe or Asia and rules out flying with any of the American carriers.

Personally, I like the USA and it has so many different parts to it that I find interesting. That said, it's a bit far away and expensive (especially New York).

The June statistics are in.

Jan-June inbound travel to the US up now 3.2%, quite a jump from May figure of 1.8%

The US Travel Association also publishes an international Travel Trends Index, a 3-month leading indicator which sits at 52.6 with index >50 meaning forecast expansion.

I think its quite clear that 2017 is shaping up to be a record year for foreign arrivals to the U.S.

LAXintl wrote:

The June statistics are in.

Jan-June inbound travel to the US up now 3.2%, quite a jump from May figure of 1.8%

The US Travel Association also publishes an international Travel Trends Index, a 3-month leading indicator which sits at 52.6 with index >50 meaning forecast expansion.

I think its quite clear that 2017 is shaping up to be a record year for foreign arrivals to the U.S.

I'm very happy for the citizens of the US that their tourism industry is still growing. I don't wish anything bad on anybody. However, quoting statistics without context is not that helpful. Tourism is up everywhere in the world. This article claims a 2017 increase of 6% in Europe and 10% in the middle east. And that's despite some fairly recent and serious terrorist incidents, not to mention wars.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... -the-globe

Again though, I started this thread as an anecdotal survey, and not a debate over the existence of a Trump slump.

Never had an issue going into the USA. Just answer the questions and if you get a difficult official just ignore it and remain polite. I certainly would not be put off by extra checks and questions. When you look at the major issues at AMS CDG BCN MAD etc.. in recent weeks it is not confined to the USA.

opticalilyushin wrote:

The only country where I have ever had a horrific experience was in Israel, and that was before I started to seriously collect Islamic passport stamps. I can only describe their approach to visiters as inhumane.

Visited 3 times the most recent back in December. Although the process is very thorough and some may say invasive I answered all the questions openly especially with regards to Lebanese and other Middle Eastern stamps and did not have an issue.

LAXintl wrote:

The June statistics are in.

Jan-June inbound travel to the US up now 3.2%, quite a jump from May figure of 1.8%

The US Travel Association also publishes an international Travel Trends Index, a 3-month leading indicator which sits at 52.6 with index >50 meaning forecast expansion.

I think its quite clear that 2017 is shaping up to be a record year for foreign arrivals to the U.S.

Unfortunately, its becoming clear that the opposite is true. I'm not a Fox News fan personally, but I thought it was interesting to see this article published by them.

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2017/09/0 ... slump.html

The Telegraph and NYT articles are more shocking. From the Telegraph:

…the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) reckons that in the week the order came into effect, the US lost $185 million (£140m) in travel bookings. By the end of the year it predicts the policy will have cost the US more than $330 million in lost revenue from Middle Eastern travellers alone.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/desti ... ng-the-us/

I doubt the Trump slump will be as devestating as 9/11, but it's not looking good. I'm sorry for all citizens on the USA.