Donald Trump’s re-election is unlikely to deter Aussie travellers heading to the US but the soaring greenback could hit them in the hip pocket.
The former president will return to the White House a convicted felon with trade, climate and immigration policies many Australians find objectionable.
Flight Centre chief executive Graham Turner said Mr Trump’s agenda would not impact travel to the US but the weakening Australian dollar could.
“Particularly if you go to a place like New York – it’s quite expensive at the best of times now, so for people who are looking for value for travel, it’s not going to help,” he told AAP.
“The strength of the US dollar, particularly in the last couple of years, makes it relatively expensive for Australians.”
Mr Turner said although most Australians thought Mr Trump “was a little bit strange” they would “soon forget about that”.
“Assuming there’s reasonable stability, which almost certainly there will be in the handover process over the next three months or so, that will probably become a minor issue,” he said.
“If Trump gets in and introduces some of his radical things that might make a difference, but that won’t be obviously until early next year.”
Business travel to the US could increase after Mr Trump is inaugurated in January despite fears of a looming trade war on the back of proposed import tariffs.
Corporate Traveller managing director Tom Walley said the US was and would remain a key destination for Australian business travellers.
“A new administration means new relationships to be built for Australian businesses and governments,” he said.
“With the incoming US administration, we expect business travel to the US to remain stable – and even grow.”
He said US travel had remained steady during Mr Trump’s previous presidency.
“Australian business travellers are resilient, can adapt to political change, and prioritise face-to-face meetings with their US stakeholders,” he said.
Australian Travel Industry Association chief executive Dean Long said political change did not generally change Australians’ travelling habits.
“If it’s a safe destination, there’s law and order – which there is in the United States – there’ll be a very, very small minority of people who may choose not to travel there,” he said.
“If you look at the history of the Australian traveller, even after things like the Bali bombings, after about three months it was back to what it was at the time of that tragedy.”
Source: AAP