Europeans are scaling back business trips to the United States amid the Trump administration’s intensifying hostilities toward trade partners and immigrant visitors. European business travel bookings to the U.S. in April dropped 26 percent compared to the same month last year as companies seek markets offering “greater stability,” Politico reported, citing data from the London-based HotelHub, a booking platform used by travel agencies. HotelHub’s chief commercial officer Paul Raymond pointed to “uncertainty around the traditional partnership” and President Donald Trump’s tariff chaos as reasons European companies are thinking twice about coming to America. After calling the European Union “nasty‚” Trump slapped the bloc with 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, 25 percent tariffs on cars and 20 percent tariffs on all other goods, before abruptly hitting pause on the policies in April. Yet the fallout from America’s souring reputation isn’t just limited to European business travel. The U.S. is set to lose $12.5 billion in international travel spending this year, according to a World Travel & Tourism Council report published last week. “While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the ‘closed’ sign,” said Julia Simpson, the WTTC president and CEO.
