(Nexstar) – With growing concerns about economic instability and global tensions, several major tourist destinations across the nation are concerned that they might see fewer travelers this year. However, travel experts suggest that if demand significantly decreases, you may benefit from better deals as these locations try to attract visitors.
Where is tourism declining?
A
Las Vegas tourism report
Released earlier this week indicated that both visitor numbers and hotel occupancy rates decreased compared to last year. This was according to data from California’s tourism board.
reported steep drop-offs
beginning in February and March.
Due to the decline in travel demand, leading U.S. airlines are cutting back on their flight schedules and adjusting or canceling their financial forecasts for the year.
“We concluded with a robust fourth quarter, experienced reasonable activity in January, but noticed a significant decline in domestic leisure travel as we moved into February,” said American Airlines CEO Robert Isom to CNBC.
Consumer hesitance to make vacation reservations would align with
a new poll
That indicated numerous individuals dread the U.S. is under threat.
steered into a recession
Moreover, President Donald Trump’s extensive and inconsistently applied tariffs will lead to increased costs.
The decrease in visitors includes both domestic and international travelers.
U.S. Travel Association
International visits decreased by 14% in March compared to the previous year. According to the report, the most significant declines came from travelers originating in Canada and Western Europe.
Michael Feroli, who leads the U.S. economics team at J.P. Morgan, suggested that the decline in travel might be attributed to an increase in negative feelings toward Americans.
Over the past few weeks, many articles have highlighted how travelers are cancelling their visits to America as a response to the strict new trade regulations,” he noted in his report for clients. “This could indicate an additional factor we should take into account when evaluating the impact of these taxes on overall economic actions.
A modest reduction in international travel, stemming from either boycotts or financial instability, could result in significant losses for the U.S. economy amounting to billions of dollars.
Bloomberg
reports.
Is the decrease in tourism likely to lead to better travel offers?
Should demand decline within the travel industry, airlines, hotel chains, and similar businesses might reduce their prices to attract more customers.
Airfares decreased in February and March, as reported.
Labor Department monitoring
.
The ticket prices have weakened compared to those in the final three months of last year extending through January and early February,” said Alaska Airlines Chief Financial Officer Shane Tackett during an interview with CNBC. “While demand remains robust across the sector, it hasn’t reached the levels we expected would persist from last year.
Before jumping to too many conclusions, several industry analysts recommend holding off until the April data comes out to determine whether the typically bustling spring break and Easter travel periods exhibited similar decreases in prices.
Nonetheless, airline business writer
Brian Summers
stated to The New York Times, “Overall, I anticipate that prices will drop, and we’ll notice more unoccupied seats.”
If we see the U.S. economy tip into an economic recession this year, that could also make travel — and other goods and services — cheaper.
“Indeed, during the 2008 downturn, we observed deflation for several months when the general price level dropped,” explained Tyler Schipper, an associate professor of economics at the University of St. Thomas. “This phenomenon tends to be pronounced in items considered luxuries for many families, such as travel. For example, airfare typically sees decreases in pricing during most economic recessions. If another recession were to occur, I believe we’d witness similar declines once more.”
Nexstar’s Addy Bink and the Associated Press provided contributions for this report.
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