Overseas visits to the US fell by 11.6% in March compared with the same month last year, according to the US National Travel and Tourism Office, as reports of detainments and interrogations at border points deterred some tourists.
Jenny, a 54-year-old former librarian from Northamptonshire, cancelled her June trip to Boston after Donald Trump’s re-election. “I had a growing feeling that I really didn’t want to give this new America our money,” she said. “But it took the news of the detainments at airports and borders to really crystallise our concerns into action.” She and her husband have now booked a trip to Crete instead.
Not all travellers have experienced problems. Sarah, a 39-year-old from Hertfordshire, visited Florida with her daughter this spring and reported no issues. “We were a little nervous about going,” she said, but found border officials were fine. “My husband and I had a conversation about how we’re probably quite privileged at the border, compared to some other families.”
For others, anxiety persists. Paul, a 44-year-old French citizen, plans to fly to Chicago in June to visit his fiancée but fears being denied entry. “I am very uneasy about travelling because I fear being detained for whatever reason and never being able to set foot in the US again,” he said. Alex, a 39-year-old Dutch civil servant of Peruvian background, recalled being subjected to a “very angry” interrogation during a Miami layover in 2017, and said he is “quite scared to travel to the US” now.
Several respondents noted that the heightened scrutiny at the border has highlighted longstanding practices. Paul said he hopes these incidents will prompt reflection on how border authorities have long treated certain groups.
