Travel Agencies NAICS 561510

Nov 4, 2025 - Travel Sector Urging End to Government Shutdown

• Hundreds of companies in the travel sector, including major hotel chains and convention bureaus, are warning that the US government shutdown that began on October 1 is already harming the industry and could cause major disruption ahead of the busy holiday travel season. The US Travel Association led a letter signed by about 500 travel-industry organizations urging Congress to pass a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government without attaching policy conditions. With essential workers at the Transportation Security Administration and Federal Aviation Administration working without pay, the industry fears increased flight delays, cancellations, and broader damage to traveler confidence. The letter warned that the shutdown’s costs extend beyond immediate operations, threatening to dampen travel demand and slow broader economic activity if the government remains closed heading into the Thanksgiving and Christmas travel peaks.
• Younger Americans rely more on AI and social media to plan vacations, according to a recent survey from market researcher Talker Research. Only 29% of millennials and 33% of GenZs said they never used AI to make travel plans versus 70% of baby boomers who still rely on more traditional travel planning. Flight price comparisons were one of the most common uses for AI among all travelers, as was asking it for ideas and inspiration (both 29%). In addition, social media has overtaken family and friend recommendations as the primary source for vacation ideas, seemingly a generational switch. YouTube came in first as the most used source of travel inspiration among all ages at 34%, followed by family (30%), and friends (29%). Younger generations prefer TikTok - with GenZ using it 52% of the time for travel ideas, millennials 27% of the time, while boomers use it a mere 2%.

• Foreign travel to the US has fallen 10% since Donald Trump took office, according to NBC News, as his trade and immigration policies are keeping international visitors away. The drop in international tourism alone will cost the US about $8.5 billion in spending, per a study by Oxford Economics. Arrivals to the US are expected to fall 9% in 2025. Flight bookings to the US between May and July - peak travel season - is already down 11% year over year as of April. Canada and Europe in particular are shunning US travel with flight bookings down 33% and 10%, respectively. The US Travel Association (USTA) estimates that a 1% drop in international foreign travel spending translates into $1.8 billion in lost revenue to the US economy. If current trends continue, the USTA estimates the US will lose $21 billion in travel-related revenue in 2025.
• Less than half of Americans have summer travel plans this year, according to a survey by consumer finance firm Bankrate. Only 46% of those surveyed will be traveling this summer, down from 53% last year, with two thirds citing cost as the reason for staying home, but not in the way most would think. Among those who did not plan to travel, 68% said the cost of everyday life was the primary reason, rather than the expense of the trip itself. Tariffs and the worry of a recession also kept more consumers in a holding pattern on summer trips. Other factors for staying home cited in the survey included the hassle of traveling (16%, up from 11% last year) and an inability to take time off of work (also 16%, a 6 point increase). A reluctance to leave work could be a sign of expectant layoffs from a weak economy.