Poll numbers from the Association of Corporate Travel
Executive and the Global Business Travel Association on President Trump's
revised travel ban for Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan Syria and Yemen showed that
corporate travel managers remain critically concerned about the impact of travel
restrictions on their companies' business and meetings travel, despite the
ban's narrowed scope.
Forty-four percent of 125 travel managers responding to the ACTE
survey said the provisions of the new executive order would cause travel
difficulties for their companies, with 6 percent of those citing
"significant" difficulties. Fifty-five percent said the executive
order had heightened their sense of threat toward their U.S.-based travelers
who travel abroad.
Nine percent of respondents said their companies had canceled
meetings in the United States in favor of finding a more genial location
abroad. One reason for this spate of relocations is the claim by 22 percent of
survey respondents that their travelers had been saddled with delays during the
immigration process or even had faced harassment when entering U.S. borders.
Likewise, U.S. and European polls conducted by GBTA
following the release of the new executive order showed similar results to
ACTE.
Among 176 U.S. travel managers responding to the GBTA poll, 37
percent expect some level of
reduction in their company’s travel because of the revised executive order. Among
148 European travel professionals 47 percent expected some level of reduction
in business travel for their company. Additionally, 17 percent of European
travel professionals reported that their company had already cancelled business
travel to the United States because of the executive orders issued.
Going forward, 38
percent of European business travel professionals said their companies would be
less willing to send business travelers to the United States because of the
executive order and 45 percent indicated their companies will be less willing
to plan meetings and events in the United States.
Charles C. Foster, chairman of Houston-based Foster LLP and
former immigration policy advisor to Presidents George W. Bush and Barack
Obama, told BTN that the scope of the new ban limits the impact on business
travel. “In reality, there are not a lot of business travelers from the six countries
still included in the ban,” he said. “If you are from one of these countries, extreme
vetting has already been going on, so [the U.S.] hasn’t been issuing a lot of
visas [for travelers] there. The idea that these executive orders have stopped a
significant flow of people from entering the U.S. is erroneous.”
Foster confirmed that both the fear of immigration delays has increased as have actual immigration delays along with complications
in the visa application process.
“When people are coming into the country there is a belief
that there is a greater probability that they will be sent to secondary
questioning,” said Foster, noting that after a 10- or 12-hour flight to the United States, secondary questioning is the last thing businesses or their travelers would want. "They could be delayed for 30 minutes or 8 hours after a primary inspection—for whatever
reason. The point is they don't know.”
That's the bigger issue, said Foster, the chilling
effect overall. "I live in Houston where we have some of the world’s biggest
medical and energy conferences that will invite new visa applications. The
chilling effect on those [could be significant]. Foster noted the visa application
process itself is being delayed, where applications are going under review "for
reasons that are not disclosed."
Where the ACTE study showed 22 percent of respondents had already seen delays and problems entering the U.S., the GBTA study revealed similar concerns moving forward. Forty-one percent cited increased traveler harassment
in general as a concern, while 34 percent expressed uncertainty regarding green
card and approved visa credibility to enter the U.S. and 34 percent noted
concern regarding harassment of U.S. travelers to and from the Middle East.
Only one-third of GBTA survey respondents did not share in any of the concerns
listed
“The results of [the
GBTA] poll show the perception of the United States as a welcoming destination
for business travel has been altered,” said GBTA executive director and COO Mike
McCormick. “GBTA continues to be a proponent for expanding proven security
programs and developing new technology to facilitate information-sharing among
governments to ensure travelers are always vetted properly, making us all more
safe and secure.”
“The U.S. does not need any
excuse for companies to prefer travel to other countries," said ACTE
executive director Greeley Koch. "Ultimately, we are talking about jobs
here. Jobs at the airports, in hotels, in surface transportation and in
restaurants. The business travel community is weighing the benefits of this ban
against its more obvious liabilities.”