“Travel Destinations Under Trump: A Glimpse into the Future of Adventure”

Last summer, following Delta Air Lines providing me with only a partial refund for expenses experienced while stranded in Paris for four days due to the Crowdstrike software failure, I went directly to the Department of Transportation (DoT) website to register a complaint.

For the subsequent month, my courteous yet relentless emails requesting Delta to honor what the gate agents in Paris had assured me went largely unanswered—until I received a response from Delta stating the DoT had instructed the airline to settle my grievance. The refund offer was promptly increased, but it still required another month (and a warning to file a second complaint) to achieve a reasonable settlement for my hotel expenses and meals.

This likely wouldn’t have occurred if it hadn’t been for Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s determined initiatives over the past four years aimed at enhancing travelers’ rights, with the DoT pledging to impose substantial fines on airlines that do not adhere to newly established regulations concerning what passengers are entitled to when flights are canceled or delayed.

Travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt of Atmosphere Research Group described Buttigieg’s DoT as “the most consumer-friendly we have witnessed in decades.”

Questions being raised by insiders as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to assume office on January 20 include: will the recent protections for air travelers remain, how vigorously will they be enforced, what will happen to a pending proposal to broaden compensation for stranded travelers, and will the new administration persist in implementing greater transparency regarding hidden travel expenses?

Another factor to contemplate is the potential impact Trump’s vow to tighten immigration may have on inbound tourists and on hospitality industry employees who depend on work permits. Observers are also closely monitoring climate-related initiatives such as sustainable aviation fuels and other environmental strategies that the government has been working to promote. Here are some of the significant issues the travel sector is watching.

Airlines

Harteveldt expressed skepticism that the new administration will attempt to alter the recently instituted rule mandating airlines to automatically compensate passengers for canceled flights or eliminate the DoT’s straightforward, single-click link to file a complaint.

“I doubt he’ll endeavor to roll things back, but I am uncertain we will witness as much rulemaking or proposed rulemaking,” he remarked.

Industry analysts suggest that the administration could disregard the rulemaking process for a proposal which, in addition to obligatory fare reimbursements for canceled flights, would require airlines to also provide compensation to passengers for cancellations and delays exceeding three hours. If no action is initiated, the proposal will lapse.

Also under consideration is a regulation demanding earlier, clearer disclosure of ancillary fees during the booking process. Last year, airlines filed a lawsuit against the DoT regarding the rule that was enacted last April, and a federal appeals court granted a temporary stay to halt its implementation in July, asserting the DoT may have exceeded its authority.

Airlines are also hopeful that the transition in administration might signify the conclusion of an era of record penalties, such as the $140 million imposed on Southwest for its December 2022 operational failure, and the elimination of regulatory hurdles that thwarted the JetBlue–Spirit merger and dissolved the JetBlue–American Airlines Northeast Alliance.

Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle informed Reuters he anticipates an “unshackling,” where regulators “concentrate on significant matters, like safety, and cease worrying about price regulation and regulating experiences.”

Geoff Freeman, leader of the U.S. Travel Association, a lobby group for U.S. inbound travel, disagreed with Harteveldt’s claim that Buttigieg’s DoT is entirely pro-consumer, asserting that while it has enforced those record fines and contested ancillary fees, it has neglected some critical issues, such as upgrading the air traffic control system to decrease airline delays and improving the often sluggish Transportation Security Administration screening process.

“If it were genuinely consumer-friendly, it would have been aiming to resolve underlying problems,” he stated. Instead, “I believe it just postponed pressing issues.”

Immigration

A significant concern for the travel industry as a whole is the potential ramifications of Trump’s immigration policies on incoming tourists.

For instance, Freeman noted the country is entering a “mega-decade” of sports events in the United States—including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, taking place in cities across Canada, Mexico, and the USA, the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. If Trump reverses efforts to address the long-standing backlog of foreigners seeking U.S. visas, it might pose difficulties for attendees from other nations to enter.

He pointed out that the current waiting period for visas from certain countries is 700 days, meaning “if you aim to attend the World Cup [final in New Jersey during the summer of 2026], you’ve already missed your opportunity.” As it stands, only 43 nations are included in the U.S. visa waiver program, which encompasses several countries in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Chile, Israel, Japan, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Nationals from non–visa waiver countries must apply for a visitor visa beforehand.

Moreover, all travelers, both citizens and visitors, said Freeman, may encounter extended waits to process customs upon arrival in the United States if personnel and resources are redirected to mitigate illegal crossings along the southern border.

Hotels

For the hospitality sector, a primary concern is whether the new administration will limit work visas that many hotels depend on, particularly for seasonal labor, according to Craig Compagnone, president of the Americas for travel marketing firm MMGY Global.

Furthermore, while the Federal Trade

Commission has recently sanctioned a regulation obligating hotels and lodging entities to reveal resort and other compulsory charges at the outset in the reservation cost. It remains uncertain if the new administration will maintain the regulation or attempt to overturn it.

Consumer advocates are optimistic it will persist as legislators from both political parties, along with the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), have backed these initiatives. In any case, the AHLA states it will keep advocating for these measures to be incorporated into federal legislation to guarantee uniformity throughout the hospitality industry.

“Last year, Congress almost succeeded with the House approval of the No Hidden Fees Act and the Senate’s Hotel Fees Transparency Act, and we will persist in prioritizing this legislative goal,” a spokesperson for the organization stated.

The environment

The travel sector will also be keenly observing the effects the Trump Administration and a Republican Congress may have on environmental safeguards, including initiatives to promote the utilization of sustainable aviation fuel and rules that have hindered infrastructure developments.

Harteveldt noted that the new administration might be more open to eliminating some federal environmental rules that complicate efforts such as constructing new runways, which he claimed are urgently required.

Moreover, analysts from the industry mentioned that the new administration may ease off on its backing and financial support for more eco-friendly jet fuel alternatives.