President Donald Trump’s travel ban threatens city tourism, industry experts say. But now that it’s here, local trade groups are averting their eyes.
When asked for the Hotel Association of New York City’s position on the ban, spokeswoman Lisa Linden said: “We are focused on hotel-tax issues and the continuing fight against illegal hotels.”
Vijay Dandapani, chairman of the trade group, had told Crain’s just after Trump’s election that the tourism industry would “alight on his doorstep” if the president implemented such a ban, as Trump promised to do on the campaign trail. Dandapani had said even the threat of such a thing could deter tourists.
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A Trump executive order signed Jan. 27 bars immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries and refugees from all countries from entering the United States for 90 and 120 days, respectively, and indefinitely bans Syrian refugees. As of press time, after a series of clarifications and despite the order’s text, both the White House and various federal agencies involved say it does not bar green-card holders, who are lawful permanent residents, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Many in the immigrant-heavy restaurant industry are “deeply concerned for themselves and their family members,” said Andrew Rigie, NYC Hospitality Alliance executive director, and they have been trying to “push back” against the president and the executive order.
City tourism arm: “All are Welcome” The city’s tourism arm last week blasted President Donald Trump’s executive order banning visitors from seven Muslim countries, saying the directive had already damaged the nation’s reputation internationally.
“The image of the U.S. has already taken a hit because of the current travel restrictions, and NYC stands to lose because of it,” an NYC & Company spokesman said via email Thursday.
International tourism generated $30 billion for the city economy last year. The city is the top destination for international travelers in the country.
The spokesman said NYC & Company, a private organization that holds the marketing contract for the city and serves as its official tourism bureau, “wholly oppose[s] policies that target and discriminate based on national origin or religious affiliation,” including Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order that blocks citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the country for the next three months.
“The executive order limiting travel to the United States is not compatible with New York City values, and it’s not compatible with New York City’s function as a global hub that welcomes people for work, study, travel, and business from every country on earth,” said the spokesman.
Though Trump campaigned on the promise of banning Muslims from entering the country, his top spokesman denied Tuesday that the order constitutes a Muslim ban or even a travel ban. Former mayor Rudy Giuliani told Fox News Saturday that he and others devised a country-based ban as a legal way to implement the Muslim ban, at Trump’s request.
NYC & Company currently has “All are Welcome” posters in the baggage claim areas at John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports and will launch similar advertising in international markets via social media shortly, its spokesman said.
But the trade group itself is staying out of the fray. “Our mission focuses on city and state regulatory matters, and we will refer our members to organizations that specialize in immigration matters if they inquire,” Rigie said.
Experts say the tourism industry, and the city economy as a whole, stands to suffer as a result of the ban.
“Foreign tourism here owes much to upbeat, positive perceptions of the U.S.,” said Craig Jenks of Airline/Aircraft Projects Inc., a New York–based industry consultancy. “Travel data suggests these perceptions are undermined by seemingly arbitrary government actions against foreigners.”
International arrivals to the United States dropped 4% in 2003 after the country went to war with Iraq, federal data shows.
NYC & Co., a collaborative effort between the city’s hospitality industry and city government that serves as the city’s official tourism arm, opposes the executive order. The organization said the number of visitors to the city from the seven countries in Trump’s directive was about 23,000 in 2015, out of nearly 60 million total visitors. But the ban “doesn’t help us to communicate a welcoming message” to potential international visitors from across the globe, spokesman Chris Heywood said. “People look at this and they may make a travel decision based on this policy, and it could deter them.”
The policy could cause travelers from around the world to say, “Ugh, I don’t want to go to that place,” said Lawrence White, professor of economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Although the numbers of tourists from the seven countries might be relatively small, White said, the ban is a “horrible idea” with respect to the economy. “Tourism is an exporting industry—it brings revenue into the country,” he said. “They just happen to come here to buy the stuff, buy the services, but the goods, buy the tchotchkes, whatever it is …
“It’s an export, and here we are inhibiting our ability to do exporting.”
Affected city businesses might not want to offer a gloomy forecast. “They’re reluctant to admit bad news in the moment,” White said. And business leaders traditionally do not publicly criticize elected officials for fear it will come back to damage their bottom line. But more than 400 tech executives and 1,600 tech workers have signed on to a Tech:NYC letter opposing Trump’s order. Many technology companies have been started by immigrants, and they rely heavily on talent from overseas.
Meanwhile, 1,000 Yemeni bodega owners in the city closed their doors in protest Thursday afternoon before a rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall, organizers said.
President Donald Trump’s travel ban threatens city tourism, industry experts say. But now that it’s here, local trade groups are averting their eyes.
When asked for the Hotel Association of New York City’s position on the ban, spokeswoman Lisa Linden said: “We are focused on hotel-tax issues and the continuing fight against illegal hotels.”
Vijay Dandapani, chairman of the trade group, had told Crain’s just after Trump’s election that the tourism industry would “alight on his doorstep” if the president implemented such a ban, as Trump promised to do on the campaign trail. Dandapani had said even the threat of such a thing could deter tourists.
A Trump executive order signed Jan. 27 bars immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries and refugees from all countries from entering the United States for 90 and 120 days, respectively, and indefinitely bans Syrian refugees. As of press time, after a series of clarifications and despite the order’s text, both the White House and various federal agencies involved say it does not bar green-card holders, who are lawful permanent residents, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Many in the immigrant-heavy restaurant industry are “deeply concerned for themselves and their family members,” said Andrew Rigie, NYC Hospitality Alliance executive director, and they have been trying to “push back” against the president and the executive order.
But the trade group itself is staying out of the fray. “Our mission focuses on city and state regulatory matters, and we will refer our members to organizations that specialize in immigration matters if they inquire,” Rigie said.
Experts say the tourism industry, and the city economy as a whole, stands to suffer as a result of the ban.
“Foreign tourism here owes much to upbeat, positive perceptions of the U.S.,” said Craig Jenks of Airline/Aircraft Projects Inc., a New York–based industry consultancy. “Travel data suggests these perceptions are undermined by seemingly arbitrary government actions against foreigners.”
International arrivals to the United States dropped 4% in 2003 after the country went to war with Iraq, federal data shows.
NYC & Co., a collaborative effort between the city’s hospitality industry and city government that serves as the city’s official tourism arm, opposes the executive order. The organization said the number of visitors to the city from the seven countries in Trump’s directive was about 23,000 in 2015, out of nearly 60 million total visitors. But the ban “doesn’t help us to communicate a welcoming message” to potential international visitors from across the globe, spokesman Chris Heywood said. “People look at this and they may make a travel decision based on this policy, and it could deter them.”
The policy could cause travelers from around the world to say, “Ugh, I don’t want to go to that place,” said Lawrence White, professor of economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Although the numbers of tourists from the seven countries might be relatively small, White said, the ban is a “horrible idea” with respect to the economy. “Tourism is an exporting industry—it brings revenue into the country,” he said. “They just happen to come here to buy the stuff, buy the services, but the goods, buy the tchotchkes, whatever it is …
“It’s an export, and here we are inhibiting our ability to do exporting.”
Affected city businesses might not want to offer a gloomy forecast. “They’re reluctant to admit bad news in the moment,” White said. And business leaders traditionally do not publicly criticize elected officials for fear it will come back to damage their bottom line. But more than 400 tech executives and 1,600 tech workers have signed on to a Tech:NYC letter opposing Trump’s order. Many technology companies have been started by immigrants, and they rely heavily on talent from overseas.
Meanwhile, 1,000 Yemeni bodega owners in the city closed their doors in protest Thursday afternoon before a rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall, organizers said.
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