French hotel group Accor SA has revealed a 25% decline in forward bookings from Europe to the U.S. for this summer. The company attributes this drop to changing travel preferences, which are influenced by political tensions and U.S. immigration policies. Increasingly, travelers are choosing destinations such as Canada, South America, and Egypt over the U.S., driven by growing concerns about the political climate.
Accor has observed a notable slowdown in bookings across the Atlantic, with a sharp decline from an 18-20% drop in the first quarter of the year. While individual cases of travelers being detained at U.S. borders are not widespread, these incidents have contributed to rising unease and negative perceptions, impacting booking trends. The transatlantic route, long a key market for airlines and tourism businesses, is now under pressure from both U.S. and European travelers. Europeans, in particular, are steering clear of the U.S. due to political reasons, while Americans are scaling back travel to Europe.
European airline executives have reported steady demand along the North Atlantic route, but there has been a recent downturn in travel to the UK, according to Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. This decline has caused shares of transatlantic carriers, including British Airways’ parent company IAG SA, to fall.
In a related development, Air Canada has seen a 10% decrease in bookings for flights between Canada and the U.S. for the period from April to September. This decline is also attributed to rising political tensions and trade disputes, with many Canadians avoiding American products and travel in response to tariffs and President Trump’s remarks about Canada.
