Who is going to the USA, who has changed their travel and what will you do differently?

[RSD]

I've just pulled the trigger and grabbed a CR in J for next year.
Thanks to all those who have curtailed their US travel plans for me to take advantage.

I hope you opted for SYD-LAX on an A330 - anything else is likely to be cancelled by then due to lack of demand

 

[SYD]

I hope you opted for SYD-LAX on an A330 - anything else is likely to be cancelled by then due to lack of demand

Plenty of demand coming the other way however!

 

[elanshin]

Plenty of demand coming the other way however!

We might see that decline over the coming months. Seems outbound US transatlantic tourism might also be on the decline with comments from airlines like VS.

 

[Forg]

We might see that decline over the coming months. Seems outbound US transatlantic tourism might also be on the decline with comments from airlines like VS.

Australia's a very expensive place to visit, and the increase-rate of US cost-of-living has been made a appreciably larger by these financial shenanigans ... and the intention appears to be to continue applying the instability, which won't help with inflation/cost-of-living at all.

 

[elanshin]

@moderators should we spin out a separate thread about US tariffs affecting airbus / Boeing etc? There was a bit kd discussion in the earlier pages.

Seems I'm reading that China Southern was going to put their whole b787-8 fleet on sale and transition to 787-9 (maybe 787-10) but has since halted this as they're now uncertain about receiving deliveries.

 

[RooFlyer]

@elanshin , I think best to report any relevant post and suggest the split-off.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Bits of this are being discussed in other threads, but I was wondering how many of us are reconsidering USA for travel and why.
The US is massive with so much to see and individually most people are friendly and proud of the good things their country does.
If you are deciding not to travel there at the moment is it because of

Yes. As in this thread with political comments

Thread 'Airfares to US to drop?'

Mar 18, 2025

The speed of change in US immigration posture (ICE hv detained/deported tourists/legal residents, universities advising oseas students to consider staying in US/not going home on hols) and the general anti-Trump vibe make me wonder if current Aus/USA airfares are about to face a revision. Doesnt bother me, I'm not going over there (and I'm not making a comment on the US, they can do what they want) but there are lots of media and SM stories to say tourism to the US is on the nose. Views ?

• BCons
• Replies: 217
• Forum: Open Discussion

• 

Both need a merge and/or prune.

Post automatically merged: Wednesday at 4:30 PM

@moderators should we spin out a separate thread about US tariffs affecting airbus / Boeing etc? There was a bit kd discussion in the earlier pages.

Seems I'm reading that China Southern was going to put their whole b787-8 fleet on sale and transition to 787-9 (maybe 787-10) but has since halted this as they're now uncertain about receiving deliveries.

Post automatically merged: Wednesday at 4:30 PM

 

[RooFlyer]

Story in the AFR on-line, if you can get to it

‘Uncertain times’: Australians rethink travel to Trump’s America

A few snippets

Data from the US International Trade Administration, part of the Department of Commerce, shows that the number of Australian visitors to the US fell by 7 per cent in March compared with last year.

That could be the slip before the landslide. A LinkedIn poll by AFR Weekend showed 51 per cent of more than 1000 respondents were either reconsidering or had already cancelled plans to travel to the US.

This caught my eye - don't think the EO been mentioned here? My bolding

Part of the drop is due to Trump Executive Order 14161, or “extreme vetting”, which impels border officials to screen international arrivals “to the maximum degree possible”.

A leading Australian travel writer has just spent three days on assignment in Miami, discovering what the new “extreme vetting” feels like.

“I was interrogated quite aggressively at the gate and then sent to a windowless room for an hour before being interrogated again,” he said of his experience at Miami International Airport.

Heated questioning
He was there to review the Four Seasons Hotel Miami, at the hotel’s expense, but was stopped for not having as many stamps in his passport as the officer would expect of a travel writer. When the traveller pointed out many countries have phased out stamps, the questioning became heated.

“He started asking: ‘which countries don’t use stamps, which ones specifically?’ And as they escorted me off, he said, sarcastically, ‘I’m so sorry for asking you such hard questions’. I Probably should have lied and said I was there for a vacation.”

In the light of all this, I'm changing my initial post

I’m not planning to go but would not alter my plans if I were.

to:

No plans to go and I'd do my utmost to avoid going. Visited between 60 and 80 times for work and leisure, nothing else to see/do worth the hassle.

 

[desafinado74]

I am planning to go in 12 months time. I will be applying for Global Entry too. If I successfully get it, hopefully that will get rid of many of the " unpleasant " surprises.

I think the tough approach will be relaxed a bit just before the 2026 World Cup anyway.

 

[RooFlyer]

I think the tough approach will be relaxed a bit just before the 2026 World Cup anyway.

Or increased, for extra "security'? The 2028 Olympic Games are going to be a hoot.

 

[Disco]

I am planning to go in 12 months time. I will be applying for Global Entry too. If I successfully get it, hopefully that will get rid of many of the " unpleasant " surprises.

I think the tough approach will be relaxed a bit just before the 2026 World Cup anyway.

The World Cup will be an interesting "watch" as it is the first time 3 countries will co-host. So it's Canada, USA and Mexico. Wonder how that will work.

 

[elanshin]

Or increased, for extra "security'? The 2028 Olympic Games are going to be a hoot.

I can already see CBP trying to deny some athlete entering.

 

[chitown_boy]

Just to put my 2 cents in…
Landed at JFK yesterday on AA67 from BCN. Flight attendant on deboarding saw me using my phone and explicitly advised me not to let CBP agents see me use my phone in the queue or it’ll give them a reason to search the contents of my phone ?
The queue took 2 hrs and entry was the same as usual - sailed through once at the front of the queue (for what it’s worth it’s my 5th entry into USA since Feb 24 for work - i’m an academic working in LGBTQ and migrant trauma research, but they didn’t need to know the full details lol - but the frequency of my work trips probably explained why they were very scant on the questioning).
There was a new sign re CBP rights to detain and search and seize you and your belongings (I think it’s new? Can’t be sure)
I think the visa holder or tourist detention media stuff is more hype than anything (all the stories i’ve heard of are from ppl with genuine issues with their visas etc)

I’ll be back in the US for World Pride in DC in June - wonder how that’s going to go down !

 

[odysseus]

Or increased, for extra "security'? The 2028 Olympic Games are going to be a hoot.

I'm sure Trump would be fine if all 'aliens' were excluded, and only USAians won all the medals, making it the "Greatest Olympics ever!"

 

[justinbrett]

I believe 100% there has been a significant drop in travellers from Canada, and a lesser extent Europe, due to the tarrifs. In most interviews on Canadian TV (CBC) that’s usually the reason.

As I posted above, the CBP stats for Q1 and Q2 to Feb show a decline in border encounters, significantly compared to a few years ago during the Biden admin, which doesn’t fit the narrative. It is possible March and Q3 will have an increase but even then it would have to be in the order of 500% to significantly exceed the numbers during the Biden admin. We’ll see. The phone searches have been a thing for a long time, and as I saw an immigration lawyer say yesterday, has occurred under every administration in recent times.

If you read the full text of the executive order mentioned above, it’s actually quite business as usual. The rest of the quote that wasn’t included was “vet and screen to the maximum degree possible all aliens who intend to be admitted, enter, or are already inside the United States, particularly those aliens coming from regions or nations with identified security risks”. That’s business as usual, and they should be doing that anyway without the need for an EO.

Most of the media reports relate to work visas, and one of the more high profile one from the Canadian “actress”, when you watch her full interviews do raise a few red flags, like flying from Vancouver to Mexico so she could use the southern land border. So perhaps if you are entering the US for work then yes you might want to fortify your documentation, but for the average person entering on an ESTA for a holiday I don’t think there’s any reason to be concerned, unless you do have something to hide.

Like almost all members who have travelled this year and posted, I haven’t noticed any difference at the border. My QF flights were full and I did try to get a WP seat release in Y and was told most of April was being denied.

I’ve already commented why I think the 7% drop in pax is a misleading story, but let’s revisit when the April stats are released.

I am planning to go in 12 months time. I will be applying for Global Entry too. If I successfully get it, hopefully that will get rid of many of the " unpleasant " surprises.

Yes, I’ve just received mine in my last trip so will be using that for the other 3 trips I have planned this year. The US side was approved within hours of the Australian vetting which just goes to show they’re not trying to keep Australians out of the states.

What would be the end goal of that? Such an outcome would be short lived anyway, as soon as tourists businesses started feeling the pinch there will be lobbying and course correction.

After all tourism is the best export a country can have, and this whole thing is about trying to increase US exports.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

If posted previously pkease disregard:

Travelling to the US? Immigration lawyers suggest using a burner phone — ABC News

If you are planning a trip to the United States, consider taking a burner phone, printing out bank statements and creating detailed itinerary plans.

apple.news

 

[elanshin]

 

[Balad2005]

The protesters are essentially a rent a crowd. America is a big diverse place. I don't see a concern

I would still consider going to the US if I had a need to .The people of the US are generally in my experience (I have been there about 10 times in the last 20 years for work and holidays ) extremely friendly,polite and helpful.The low AUD is a factor for a lot of people when deciding to travel.
I think the media is responsible for some unnecessary anxiety around travel to the USA.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

The people of the US are generally ……………..extremely friendly,polite and helpf

They voted him in - twice - so they deserve what they get - the rest of the world didn’t vote him in and do not deserve what he brings - seems very simple to me - vote with your feet and your $$$s and stay away

 

[DC3]

The people of the US are generally in my experience (I have been there about 10 times in the last 20 years for work and holidays ) extremely friendly,polite and helpful.

Similar here.

Edit: And I don’t go to the US with any thought about politics. Plenty of great places to visit in the US.