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GBTA Testifies at House Homeland Security Subcommittee Hearing, Addresses TSA PreCheck Program and the Economic Impact of Travel Ban

Today, I testified on behalf of GBTA at a hearing held by the Homeland Security Committee’s House Subcommittee on Transportation and Protective Security. The purpose of the hearing, Addressing The TSA Checkpoint: The PreCheck Program and Airport Wait Times, was to examine both TSA, GAO, and private sector stakeholder perspectives relating to the TSA PreCheck program, as well as the agency’s airport wait times mitigation strategy going into the busy Summer travel season.

U.S. Tourism’s “Trump Slump” Unfortunately Comes as No Surprise to GBTA

In the initial aftermath of the first two travel bans issued by the Trump Administration and the electronics ban, GBTA conservatively projected a loss of $1.3 billion in overall travel-related expenditures in the United States in 2017. Given the cumulative effect of ongoing negative rhetoric and polices that ultimately discouraged international travel to the country, travel fared even worse than our original projections.

Travel Ban Expanded to Include Chad, North Korea and Venezuela
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Travel Ban Expanded to Include Chad, North Korea and Venezuela

Travel Ban Expanded to Include Chad, North Korea and Venezuela Restrictions Tailored By Country Yesterday the President and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced enhanced global security measures that included adding Chad, North Korea and Venezuela to the list of countries subject to travel restrictions. Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Somalia are again…

United States Projected to Lose $1.3 Billion in Travel-Related Expenditures in 2017

United States Projected to Lose $1.3 Billion in Travel-Related Expenditures in 2017

First, there was Brexit. Next came the Trump Administration’s first travel ban, which cost the United States $185 million in business travel bookings in one week. It was followed by a second travel ban, which like the first, was halted by court orders. After that, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) barred passengers…

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Turbulent Skies Ahead: Travel Industry Braces for Electronic Ban Expansion

Earlier this week, a JetBlue flight was diverted after a lithium-ion laptop battery caught fire in a passenger’s carry-on. According to Business Insider, this occurrence exposes one of the major dangers associated with the Trump Administration’s laptop ban, which is currently imposed on 10 airports in eight Middle Eastern and African countries. The possible expansion of…

Update on the “Travel Ban”
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Update on the “Travel Ban”

On March 6, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order called “Executive Order Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry to the United States.” The White House issued the order largely in response to court challenges made against another Executive Order signed on January 27. As we noted in an earlier blog post, the effective…

Week in Review
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Week in Review

On Monday, President Trump signed a revised executive order following his initial January 27 travel ban that was halted by court order. According to Skift, European companies anticipate a reduction of business travel to the United States because of the new order. Forty-five percent of European business travel professionals indicated their company will be less willing to plan…

GBTA Statement on President Trump’s First Address to Congress
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GBTA Statement on President Trump’s First Address to Congress

On Tuesday night, President Trump delivered his first address to Congress. In his address, he said he will be asking Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion investment in the infrastructure of the United States — financed through both public and private capital — creating millions of new jobs. The Global Business Travel…

GBTA Statement on Revised Executive Order on Travel
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GBTA Statement on Revised Executive Order on Travel

Today, President Trump issued a revised executive order following the initial travel ban that came out on January 27, which was halted by court order. The revised order bans foreign nationals from Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia and Yemen who don’t have a valid visa from entering the United States for 90 days. It will…