AP Mourns: No Trump Travel Slump

The Associated Press pined to write an article about how international travel to the U.S. is down because foreigners hate President Trump, or because of the travel ban. Or something. Alas, it was not to be:

Last winter, the U.S. tourism industry fretted that Trump administration policies might lead to a “Trump slump” in travel.

But those fears may have been premature. International arrivals and travel-related spending are up in 2017 compared with the same period in 2016.

There might even be a “Trump bump,” says Roger Dow, CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, a nonprofit representing the travel industry.

A few months ago, Dow and others warned that President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and ban on travel from a handful of mostly Muslim countries could send an anti-tourism message.

I sincerely doubt that many international travelers are motivated by which party is currently in power.

But “impending doom hasn’t manifested itself,” Dow said in an interview. “Right now we cannot identify a loss. It’s contrary to everything we’ve heard, but travel is in slightly better shape than it was a year ago. Everyone wants me to tell the story of the sky is falling, but for the travel industry, the sky is not falling.”

Interesting: “Everyone wants me to tell the story of the sky is falling.” Who is “everyone”? AP reporters, for example? The data, as so often happens, refuse to cooperate:

Latest numbers from the U.S. Travel Association’s Travel Trends Index showed 6.6 percent growth in international travel to the U.S. in April and 5 percent growth in May compared with the same months last year.

How long do you think it will be before news organizations like the AP, the New York Times and the Washington Post stop trying to make every story about President Trump?

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