If there was any shred of doubt about where Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stands when it comes to President Donald Trump's temporary travel and immigration ban, he put that to rest in his closing remarks during Thursday's fourth quarter earnings call.
After thanking Expedia employees for a strong 2016, Khosrowshahi finished up by saying "hopefully we will all be alive to see the end of next year."
Afterward, a spokesman for Expedia would only tell CNBC that "we do not have anything additional to share."
It doesn't appear too difficult to read between the lines in this case. According to the New York Times, Khosrowshahi is himself an Iranian immigrant, and Iran was one of the seven Muslim-majority countries included in Trump's executive order.
What's more, Khosrowshahi hasn't been shy about criticizing Trump's policy. He condemned the controversial executive order in an email to employees last month and this week quoted a New York Times article on Twitter referring to a recent protest of the travel ban.
Last month, Expedia signed a declaration supporting a lawsuit against the ban, with Khosrowshahi pointing out that as many as 1,000 Expedia employees were affected by it.
[READMORE] READ MORE: ASTA Says Trump's Travel Ban Is Having a Negative Effect on Travel [/READMORE]
The ban has also negatively impacted the travel industry at large, with Forward Keys reporting that international trends in bookings to the U.S. are down 6.5 percent compared with the equivalent period last year.
Trump's executive order was reversed by a federal judge last week and on Thursday the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denied to reinstate the ban, which was originally issued Jan. 27.
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