Would you travel to the USA?

[Ineedcoffeenow]

Setting aside disagreement with Trump’s politics, would you travel to the USA this week (specifically NYC and Washington DC)? My concern lies with the risk of terrorism.

It is actually legal to protest. Law abiding is nothing to do with it. There's also quite an assumption on this thread that posters are both white and British. Many MN users are not one or both of those things.

@Finallybreathingout Some have said they are white British and I’m referring to them. Protests might be legal but few actually go on them. If you want to protest (eg about Gaza or immigration) then maybe USA is not for you. For the general run of the mill population, it’s fine.

Quite a thing to say about the Land of the Free, eh? Sad to think you think it’s OK that a country won’t admit people who have exercised their legal right to protest.

Comment from one of my US resident friends!

US is a real security threat for visitors..a Banana Republic run by a Dictator ..TACO his name

Yep, all set to fly out on the 9th for 14 nights. Can’t wait actually!

I looked up the numbers of border crossings between Canada and the US.

There were more than 910,000 fewer land border crossings from Canada into the U.S. in March 2025 than in March of 2024 — a more than 22 per cent drop — according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

Some Canadians unfortunately have to cross into the US for work each day but otherwise the impact of the rest of us avoiding visits to the US is being to hurt their businesses.

The thing is, Trump is in for the next 3 years then, unless the Dems get their act together sharpish, there's a possibility of his performing monkey Vance being in for 4-8 years. A possible 11 years of no US holidays. There are other places in the world, but 11 years is kids too old to go to Disney land, never seeing California, Nashville or NYC or even Washington. You don't have to see those things, but they are incredible places. I have been to the US many times. It's an incredible country to visit. I won't bother going back because I'd only go back to visit the National Parks and they are being directly affected by Trump. But I wouldn't say to my kids who've never been to not go for potentially the whole of their 20's.

I suggest your friend looks up the definition of a Banana Republic - the USA is certainly not one.

About as truthful as travel there being a "real security threat" for visitors. I've been twice in the last 6 months for work - absolutely no issues whatsoever.

I’m going to the US because nowhere/their government is ‘better’ in terms of their geopolitical behaviour. Can anyone tell me where in the world has a government with a wonderful person at the helm? I’d love to see that list. I’m sure that a lot of this is down to sheer news dominance. If you all knew the despicable shit that other governments get up to, you’d avoid lots of naice destinations.

If anyone cares to divulge where they will go to on holiday, I’m sure a few google searches of that country will bring up all sorts of interesting information about what draconian laws are being pushed through and how people are treated.

Please tell me where’s ok for a holiday??

Many Americans living in America believe their country is no longer safe for visitors. We use to cross the border weekly for shopping, lunch with friends etc. we don’t now - not because we think we are unsafe but whilst Trump is President we don’t want to contribute to the US economy - same opinion held by many Canadians - which is border crossings are down and US businesses near the border are struggling as they relied on Canadians spending their money in the US.

Many countries have politically questionable governments but the US is currently lurching from one bad decision to the next - it’s unstable.

Yes - we heard you the 1st, 2nd, 3rd time.....

Its not going to stop a lot of us still being very happy to travel to the US.

If I was Canadian I wouldn't go and would feel the same way, because they have been so disrespected by Trump. It is also part of a nationwide boycott will also make a far larger impact than some UK citizens not going on holiday for a week.

I agree with you but, again, where’s better? Where is acceptable to go on holiday - can anyone say where they ARE agreeable to going to?

I agree, I wouldn't go to America if I lived in Canada. As a UK citizen Im also choosing not to go - and it seems many others across the world are doing the same. Massive amounts lost to the American economy as a result.

Well. Reality is that 90% of US tourism is by Americans, so the impact isn’t as stratospheric as all that; foreign tourists do spend more overall per capita.

The fact is that going away on holiday is a luxury. Essentially my reason for not going to the US next year is not any form of political activism, and in fact me not going (metropolitan liberal elite Euroweenie that I am) could if anything be used by the populists as a positive. The reason I’m not going is that I can’t bear it. The poisonous anti American unconstitutional bullshit on display just makes me not want to spend happy holiday times there. Yes we all make accommodations with regimes that aren’t perfect for our own reasons and I could for example choose a much more politically aware kind of travel within the US if I chose to; I have friends who go to Poland every year to see family, they’re not Law and Justice types just because they go there. I don’t think other people should not go for my benefit. I just don’t want to go and that is legitimate enough.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa Follow the advice here and make sure your travel insurance cover is good (and that it covers both work and leisure).

We are going on the 9th for two weeks. I haven’t given it a thought. My sister lives there (votes Dem) and we have had many wonderful holidays there and will continue to do so.

Permanent Temporary

The US simply cannot rely on domestic travellers. The real money comes from international visitors from all around the world.

In 2024, nearly 90% of all tourism spending came from domestic travel, with Americans holidaying at home in record numbers. But this heavy reliance on homegrown tourism is masking a serious vulnerability; the international market is where the real growth lies, and the U.S. is losing its crown.

Relying on domestic travellers might have kept the lights on during the pandemic, but without a bold international recovery plan, the world’s biggest Travel & Tourism economy risks falling further behind.

The economic cost of inaction is clear. Travel & Tourism contributed $2.6TN to the economy last year and supported more than 20 million jobs. It also contributed more than $585BN in tax revenue annually, accounting for almost 7% of all government income. It could be even higher with a strong international visitor base. The sector has long been a reliable driver of federal, state, and local tax receipts.

"I've been twice in the last 6 months for work - absolutely no issues whatsoever."

What colour is your skin?
What is your religion?
What other countries have you visited, that have stamped your passport ?
Which company do you work for? Or what line of work are you in ?

You don't have to answer of course, but it simply isn't the case that everyone can enter and leave the USA at the moment without any issues.

This just reads to me like another "I'm alright Jack" post.
It's very nice that you didn't have issues, but perhaps more people should think about Martin Niemoller's poem 'Then they came for me', and be more aware of what things are like for other people.

My issue with the US isn’t the political leaning of the president. It’s the fact that they are moving at speed away from democratic norms and looking to act outside international law. Just yesterday the Supreme Court has made yet another judgment restricting the checks and balances that the US constitution is meant to abide by. Professional people legally working in the US on visas are being deported for holding perfectly legitimate views at odds with the administration. Universities are being restricted from bringing foreigners in to study and research. Established constitutional rights are being challenged.

Personally I’d expect to face no barriers to visiting but there’s a principle at stake. I go on holiday to countries with respect for the rule of law, whether or not their political leaders are in line with my personal beliefs. Trump and Project 2025 have the motto ‘move fast and break things. I feel desperately sorry for the many Americans who are horrified at what is happening (including friends and family of my own) but I don’t want to holiday there right now. A sizeable proportion of US citizens view Trump as a dictator at this point, despite his democratic election (and I worry about how robust any democratic process in the world is right now with the manipulation of media we have) - eg this poll from May: https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-poll-dangerous-dictator-2066852 and this: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/new-poll-whopping-third-of-non-trump-voters-think-us-is-dictatorship/ar-AA1Ha8DL

As sorry as I feel for Americans, more than half of them voted for him. He wasn't even a surprise. He incited people to overthrow an election and try and kill the outgoing VP! He has also not done anything that he didn't say he was going to do, so unfortunately they have to live with the consequences of their and their fellow Americans decisions, whether or not now they are saying he's 'a dictator' . He said he was going to do this, Project 25 said he was going to do this. Hopefully they will suffer enough consequences not to inflict anyone like him on the world again.

49.8% of votes cast in 2024 were for Trump. Only 32% of eligible voters voted for Trump.

That’s too many, still, clearly.

Totally agree this was obvious to many of us but (a) there are millions of Americans who did NOT vote for him and are now stuck with his presidency and (b) those who fell for the line that it was just the Dems smearing him (Project Fear all over again). The Americans I know personally loathe him and have since he ran in 2016. I only mentioned the polls as they show it’s not just foreigners looking on in horror at his actions.

Canada. Mark Carney.

Its kinda like the US to the untrained eye but nicer, cleaner, friendlier, safer and better.