According to a new Brand USA survey, Chinese travelers were the only group of visitors that claimed that the political climate in the United States under Donald Trump has made them more likely to visit than before. USA’s survey suggests that Trump’s election has led to an increased interest among Chinese people to visit the United States. Survey respondents were given a multiple-choice list factors influencing travel plans; one of them evaluated the influence of the political climate on travel decisions.
Among the countries surveyed, Mexican nationals showed the most concern, followed by Canada, Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, and France, all of them showed moderate concern. Travelers from India, Japan, Brazil, and South Korea were less sensitive to the political climate than respondents from other countries but still showed a decreased likelihood in visiting the United States. In the three-month period between December 2016 and February 2017, Chinese respondents were the only group of respondents which had gotten more likely to visit the United States because of the U.S. political climate.
The two key tables from the Brand USA survey, which was discussed at the organization’s recent board of directors meeting, follow.
Speculating as to why the survey results showed what they did, Jing Daily had this to say: “The reasons for Chinese travelers’ relative excitement about travel to the United States following Trump’s inauguration remain debatable. On the one hand, it could indicate relative confidence in a United States led by Donald Trump, but on the other hand, it could also indicate that Chinese travelers fear that the United States’ fraught relationship with China may cause heightened travel restrictions in the future—making the currently tense political climate a good reason to visit the United States sooner rather than later. At the same time, Trump’s calls for making the United States a safer place may also be resonating with Chinese tourists, who are known for being security-conscious. A perceived lower risk of terror attacks and violent crime on U.S. soil should, therefore, make Chinese travelers more interested in visiting the United States.”
