The so-called Trump effect is making the US uncool in the eyes of young travellers, according to youth travel specialist STA Travel.
In its inaugural travel trends report, out this week, the agency said flight sales to the US were down by 23% in January, a slight improvement on the trend witnessed for most of 2018.
Key flight destinations are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orlando and Boston.
"While it’s expected that flight sales to the USA will improve, it’s not clear to what extent given it’s seen as an expensive destination in comparison to alternatives, such as Asia," said the report.
"There is also a general consensus coming from STA Travel’s branches that the USA is not a ‘cool’ destination for young travellers at the moment, partly thought to be due to the ‘Trump effect’, backing up research findings that today’s youth are highly conscious and socially aware travellers."
However, land bookings for the US are holding strong, achieving 8% growth year on year in January 2019.
Instead, flight sales to Australia and New Zealand continue to show growth for 2019, up 5% and 6% respectively in January.
Other flight destinations seeing growth in early 2019 include Japan (up 31% year-on-year) and Sri Lanka (up 9% year-on-year).
Land sales for STA Travel’s touring product in Sri Lanka were up 45% in January, while bookings for Japan’s land product were up 55%.
The Philippines also continues to grow (up 19% in January year-on-year), reflecting the trend of its rise in popularity for a number of years now.
This year, STA Travel hopes to tap into the demand from today’s younger travellers for travel with meaning and the opportunity to give something back.
Its research found young travellers feel most passionate about mental wellbeing, closely followed by human rights, climate change, animal welfare and gender equality.
