Travel Leaders on Trump 2.0… in Three Words or Less

Donald Trump and the Republican Party are now in charge: The White House, control of both the House and the Senate, and a likely majority on the Supreme Court for generations to come.

It’s a massive change in consolidation of power, and we at Skift felt compelled to explore a Megatrend on what it could mean for the travel industry. Our editorial team reached out to our extensive network of high-powered travel insiders with a single question:

“What does the incoming Trump administration mean for your part of the travel industry?”

We granted all respondents anonymity to encourage candor and limited their answers to three words or less (you’re welcome). And the response was overwhelming. Almost 50 of them answered, including 16 CEOs of major brands in the travel space.

Overall, the result was mostly positive, with approximately 66% of our respondents expressing neutral to positive sentiments. This was especially true from those in the tourism and hospitality sectors. Leaders in those areas expect the incoming administration to supply an economic boost for travelers, which will in turn create profits for their companies.

Some leaders did make it a point to explain that while they thought the incoming Trump administration was good for business, they didn’t necessarily agree with Trump’s policies in their personal lives. 

About 34% of those we talked to conveyed a negative sentiment (with some of that being very negative). Who was more fearful? Those in the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (or MICE) space. That’s likely the result of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s new, and yet untested, Department of Government Efficiency (or DOGE), which some fear may put DMO and other government funding in the travel sector at risk.

Here’s exactly what they had to say, broken down by sector, starting with the most positive sentiment:

Tourism

• “Richer, bolder spending” — Founder, Global Luxury Tour Operator
• “Good economies travel” — President, Global Tour Operator
• “Community over divisiveness” — CEO, Global Tour Operator
• “American outbound boom” — Middle East General Manager, Tour Operator
• “To Be Determined” — CEO, Travel Agency
• “Not. For. Sale.” — Greenland Tourism Official
• “Absolutely nothing” — CEO, Space Tourism Operator
• “OMG and WTF” — CEO, Global Tourism Operator

Hospitality

• “Generally favorable for travel” — CEO, Global Hospitality Brand
• “Fasten Your Seatbelts” — Global Hotel Design Executive
• “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE” — Hotel CEO
• “Still Moving Forward” — President, Global Hotel Sales Organization
• “Financially positive – moral bankruptcy” — CEO, Global Hotel Chain
• “Twilight zone?” — Hospitality Founder
• “Not much” — CEO, Property Management Company
• “Irrelevant” — CEO, Property Management Company
• “Honestly, Not Much” — Property Management CEO
• “Shit Hits Fan” — CEO, Property Management Company
• “Optimistic about future growth” — CEO, North American Hotel Group

Airlines

• “Long Live Donald Trump” — Airline CEO
• “Upbeat, Promising” – Airline CEO
• “Opportunity. Tension. Stability” — Middle East Airport Executive
• “Stability or chaos?” — Marketing Executive, Global Airline
• “All bets off” — CEO, Global Airport Group
• “Not again” — Communications Director, Global Airline
• “More black swans” — COO, European Airport
• “Upbeat” — Airline CEO 

Travel Tech

• “More deal-making opportunities” — Travel Tech VC
• “Ironically, bigger budgets” — Travel Marketing Executive
• “Cautiously Optimistic” — VP, Business Travel Giant
• “Geopolitical stability?” — OTA Executive
• “Not much difference” — Founder, Travel AI Startup
• “Nothing at all!” — Early Stage Travel Tech VC
• “To Be Determined ;-)” — CEO, Travel Tech Firm
• “Disruption unleashed globally” — Travel Tech Executive, GCC Region

Advocacy Organizations

• “Uncertainty sparks creativity” — United Nations Tourism Ambassador
• “Optimistic” — Travel Lobbyist
• “Challenges breed creative resilience” — CEO of Global Sustainability NGO
• “Unlikely material effect” — President, Hotel Lobby
• “Conflict and Chaos” — Airline Labor Leader

MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions)

• “Good for Business” — CEO, MICE Association
• “Make Business Better Again” — President, Meetings Planning Agency
• “Optimistic and Afraid” — President, Meetings & Incentive Company
• “Uncertainty and adjustment!” — Chief Strategy Officer, MICE
• “U.S. Inbound Reduction” — MICE Association President
• “Less International Attendees” — Consultant, MICE Industry
• “History repeating itself” — MICE Executive
• “Tariffs = Increased Costs” — MICE Trade Show Executive