Reports that Donald Trump’s return to the White House for a second term as US President have sparked a fall in US holiday bookings appear to be largely overblown.
Travel Gossip has spoken to numerous travel agents who mostly backed up a recent report from Visit USA (UK), which stated bookings in the first quarter of the year have held steady.
While a few said bookings are down year on year, they cited several other reasons, including higher prices and the lure of other destinations.
TUI said it hasn’t seen any impact on bookings to the US, and Trena Lewis of World Jersey Travel and Ikon Travel Boss Lisa Williams, who is based in Birmingham, agreed.
“I haven’t had any customers show any concerns about travel to the US, and those who have already booked have not given any inclination to change their plans,” said Lisa.
“I have been many times and am just about to book a holiday there for next year. It’s business as usual, and the US remains a popular, indeed a bucket list, destination for many.”
Blue Bay Travel CEO Alistair Rowland said: “The USA has been popular this year, up 50%, despite a lack of surety with its leadership, an improving sterling rate has boosted demand.
“City breaks and twin centre tours are resonating, with Las Vegas, New York and San Francisco performing strongly, along with Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans.
“Booking values average £5k this year, and over £6k on twin centres, and most bookings are to travel in 2025. Further out, Disney is performing well for extended families, booking into 2026.”
Ocean Holidays has also seen bookings to the US holding strong, with Product and Commercial Director Anna Maria Janssen adding: “USA bookings for Ocean Holidays are more than holding up.
“April typically brings a surge in interest for the Disney Early Booking Offer, and despite a later launch this year due to the timing of Easter, demand remains exceptionally strong. Like-for-like 2026 departures are currently tracking more than 84% up year-on-year since launch.”
Travel Counsellors’ US bookings are up year on year, but Global Sales Director Jim Eastwood said there has been some softening since the start of the Trump administration.
“Traditional hotspots such as Florida, California and the theme parks have been softer, especially among families reassessing their travel plans. That said, interest in more experiential trips, including road trips and emerging destinations like Nashville, Montana and Texas, remains strong. Notably, last week saw a significant spike in US bookings, which appears to have been driven by the launch of the Disney dining offer,” he said.
Chester-based Travology Travel owner Lucy Clarke has had ‘at least’ five more enquiries than this time last year, with customers requesting American road trips, Disney and New York among other holidays.
Jill Waite, who owns of Pole Travel in Failsworth, Manchester, said the promotion of Epic Universe, and Virgin Atlantic’s new flight from Manchester to Las Vegas were stimulating demand. “We do quite a lot of tailor-made three- and four-centre trips, the only problem we have is that there are now so few routes from Manchester to the US – we need some more routes,” said Jill.
Not Just Travel’s Gemma Standish said: “I haven’t had anyone cancel or had any issues on my side for America. I have two couples who have booked in the last month for their honeymoons, so I’ve not had any issues.”
However, Mark Bratt, Director of Manchester-based Mark Bratt Travel, said: “Our forward bookings to the USA are down 60% on this time last year. For context, forward bookings overall are up 10% on this time last year.
“Some of this is down to business trips where people are pivoting away from the USA, but we’ve also had conversations with customers who do not want to travel to the USA whilst there is such an ‘anti-rest of the world’ sentiment.”
According to Mark, holidaymakers are looking to more adventurous destinations, such as Tanzania, Argentina and Albania for their summer breaks.
He added: “I had a conversation with a customer this morning who booked the USA last year to travel in a couple of months’ time, who joked that they might just stay at home instead. So it’s just the sentiment of being very much against the current administration.”
Scott Murray, Director of Murray Travel, near Inverness, also reported that enquiries to the US were ‘markedly down’ with customers favouring cruises and destinations in the Far East.
Another agent, who preferred to remain anonymous, said they’d also seen a significant drop in enquiries to the USA over the last six months. “None of my customers have expressed a reason; they have just requested elsewhere,” they said.
Personal Travel Agent Linda Reynolds said increasing costs meant some families were no longer able to afford a trip to Disney in Florida. “Prices for Disney onsite hotels are way beyond the average family and now looked at as a long-term saving, or perhaps missing a holiday one year to be able to afford their dream holiday the next,” she said.
She said she’d costed a week at Disney Animal Kingdom for one adult and two teenagers during October half-term at £13,508. The Disney dining plan, introduced in April, has helped secure bookings, but Linda said she hasn’t received as many enquiries as in previous years.
Linda said she had one LGBTQ group that was considering amending bookings for two cruises from the US. “The main reason for clients turning against the US is the media attention focusing on radical changes and the anti-everyone stance,” she added.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported a drop in US travel earlier this year. In February, North American airlines saw a 1.5% fall in international demand, with capacity also decreasing by 3.2% year-on-year. While total demand fell by 1.1% in March 2025 compared to the previous year, total capacity was up 3.5% year-on-year.
IATA Director-General Willie Walsh said: “There remains a lot of speculation around the potential impacts of tariffs and other economic headwinds on travel. While the small decline in demand in North America needs to be watched carefully, March numbers continued to show a global pattern of growth for air travel.”
