by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 9:30 AM ET, Wed October 25, 2017
Each time President Trump issues a new version of his travel ban, the U.S. travel industry and the economy takes a hit.
That's the assessment of several industry insiders, supported by studies showing there has been an overall decline in the number of visitors to this country.
A study from ForwardKeys-an organization focused on global travel patterns-shows that since January 27, when the first travel ban was introduced (seeking to bar entry for citizens from seven countries), there has been a 1.4 percent decline in international visitors as compared to the same period last year, The Boston Globe reported..
By causing confusion and fear among travelers, Trump's bans have also translated into a loss of billions of dollars for the U.S. economy.
To date, three versions of Trump's bans have been issued. Court rulings overturned two previous versions, and a federal judge in Hawaii recently blocked the administration from implementing its third attempted ban.
As TravelPulse's Donald Wood reported, the Hawaii judge said the latest ban ignored rulings by the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which stated that previous orders exceeded the scope of President Trump's authority and promoted discrimination based on nationality.
However, each time the bans are back in the headlines, travelers around the world are turned off and shy away from visiting this country, according to The Boston Globe.
"There has been a Trump slump, and the strong dollar has compounded it," Olivier Jager, chief executive for ForwardKeys, told The Boston Globe. "This must be worrying for the US economy."
ForwardKeys is not the only organization noticing the trend. The Department of Commerce found that during the first three months of Trump's presidency, nearly 700,000 fewer tourists visited this country than during the same time period one year ago.
That decline translates into $2.7 billion in lost spending, according to the forecasting firm Tourism Economics.
Berlin-based travel blogger Adam Groffman told The Boston Globe that people in Europe have soured feelings about visiting the United States.
"I have heard from many European friends who say they specifically have no interest in visiting the U.S. right now because of the ban and Trump," Groffman, a former Bostonian said.
The World Travel & Tourism Council also found that the number of visitors to the U.S. declined during the first four months of the year. Unlike others, however, the WTTC says it may be too soon to blame Trump or his travel bans.
"Generally, it's difficult to attribute any growth or declines fully to the Trump administration and any recent policy developments," Ana Goes, a WTTC spokeswoman, told The Boston Globe. "Tourist flows and contributions are influenced by a range of factors, including currency exchange rates as well as developments in source markets."
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