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US Travel Association boss compares country's negative image to that of China

United States
Gary Noakes
21 November 2025

Travellers are to the US are now thinking of the country in the same negative light as China, the boss of the US Travel Association has said.

Geoff Freeman is president and chief executive of the US Travel Association
(Credit: US Travel Association)

Geoff Freeman is president and chief executive of the US Travel Association (Credit: US Travel Association)

Geoff Freeman, the association's president and chief executive, said perceptions that the US is unwelcoming and could potentially detain visitors were hampering sales.

"The US will be the only nation in the world this year to see a reduction in travel,” Freeman told the recent Phocuswright conference in San Diego.

"People are now thinking about coming to the US the way many of us thought about going to China – wiping devices, fearing detention. That’s really concerning."