U.S. Travel Association president and CEO Geoff Freeman talks:
- Proposed CBP social media policy
- Visa wait times and proposed $250 "visa-integrity fee"
- The effects of the long-term air traffic controller shortage
It was a challenging year for travel, with economic uncertainty, ongoing air traffic controller shortages and the record-long U.S. government shutdown. U.S. Travel Association president and CEO Geoff Freeman on Dec. 18 discussed with BTN senior editor Donna M. Airoldi visa concerns, preparedness for the FIFA World Cup, business travel trends, the effects of the government shutdown and the outlook for 2026. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
BTN: What is the risk if the U.S. Customs and Border Protection proposal to require inbound applicants to show five years of social media history is enacted?
Geoff Freeman: We're very concerned about the proposed social media policy. We've had lengthy discussions with leadership at Customs and Border Protection and elsewhere in the administration. There's the operational element that includes the fact that CBP and other security agencies are already searching where they deem appropriate publicly available information, and some would say this is merely refining the work that we're already doing.
The other element is the perception that this somehow violates people's privacy. That it's a step too far, that it is a limit on what people are allowed to say about the United States or individuals within the United States, and it's the perception that concerns us most. We do believe that a policy like this could be a deterrent to travel to the United States, and we will work with the administration and the agency throughout the public comment period to ensure that we don't pursue something that would be perceived by travelers to be a significant deterrent to visiting the United States.
BTN: What about business travel specifically?
Freeman: Business is more complicated, because the decision will not be entirely up to the individual. Based on what we've heard, you may well have businesses tell their employees what you can or cannot share with the U.S. government. And if the U.S. government has another policy that may lead to the decision not to come to the United States to avoid conventions, to avoid meetings, to avoid other things representing that business, that is obviously of great concern to us.
I am pleased that in our lengthy discussions with Customs and Border Protection, we've heard an openness to understanding these issues. They've made clear that this is a public comment period and that no decisions have been made. I am pleased that they seem to be open to feedback, and I'm hopeful that we can avoid any requirement that Visa Waiver Program travelers have to share additional social media information.
BTN: How might this affect attendance for upcoming major events in the United States, like the World Cup in June and July?
Freeman: Even if they were to proceed with this policy, it is highly unlikely that it could be or would be implemented in advance of the World Cup, from a practical standpoint. I think what that fails to recognize, though, is the concern that this creates among travelers, the anger that it may create with some travelers, and the determination that we've certainly heard from various travelers that this is a message that 'the U.S. does not want my business.' I think it's hard to put the genie back in the bottle.
This was not communicated particularly effectively when it was rolled out. It has created perceptions that may be inconsistent with the reality. But you know what? That's our fault as a country. We've created that perception. We've got to address that. And that's why I fear even if the policy isn't implemented, we could still face a bit of a fallout.
BTN: Are we ready for these upcoming events in terms of security procedures?
Freeman: I was at Dulles [International Airport in Washington, D.C] today with CBP leadership, seeing some of their new technology. I think we are on the right track when it comes to the World Cup. I was quoted earlier this year: 'If we wanted to be ready for the World Cup, we needed more urgency.' My compliment to the Trump administration is they've shown that urgency.
They've taken some very important steps to make sure that our 11 host cities are ready. They've reduced visa wait times. They've created a new fast pass [the FIFA Priority Appointment Scheduling System] for people who have tickets to get a visa. They have through the reconciliation bill secured more officers at customs in the airports. They've made some important changes at [the U.S. Transportation Security Administration], such as no longer having to have your shoes off if you're in the regular line at TSA. All of those are really important steps.
My hope is that we can maximize the demand that we have as many people around the world wanting to come to this World Cup as possible. And that's where something like the recently announced social media policy can be so challenging. Is that a welcome mat or is that a deterrent? The talk of the $250 so-called visa-integrity fee … we've succeeded in preventing it from being implemented. … I think the administration is taking very important practical and operational steps to improve processes. [And] I think we still have work to do to make sure the world knows that we want their business.
BTN: You mentioned an improvement in visa wait times. What triggered that change?
Freeman: The administration knew what they inherited, which were long visa wait times at many consulates around the world. They knew that there were some relatively simple approaches that could be done, such as having consulates open for longer hours, rushing 'SWAT teams' into certain markets where you had backlogs. They just did some practical things, some of which had been done before but not done recently.
They've made progress, particularly in South America—Brazil, Argentina, we've seen progress there. But in other markets around the world, I think we're only down to a couple of markets where visa wait times remain high, and in those markets, my understanding is there are other complicating factors that may be contributing to the wait times.
BTN: Can you share which markets those are?
Freeman: I believe Colombia and India remain problematic. Those are two that come to mind.
Again, the administration … focused on it early, and they've driven some good results. I think we've got to ask ourselves, is there a better way? How do we modernize our visas? How do we create a next-generation visa system so that we don't constantly get into this backlog situation? The administration has done a good job putting the fire out. The question is how do we prevent the fires from beginning in the future? And that's something I don't think people are really focusing on as we head into the World Cup and may not even be focusing on as we head into the [2028 Summer] Olympics [In Los Angeles].
Something like this fast pass they've put together may well be a replicate-able program for the future. How do we use something like this for the Consumer Electronics Show? How do we use it for other large events? I'm excited to talk about some of those long-term solutions.
BTN: Some businesses and organizations are having trouble getting international speakers at meetings and events because of visa issues. How are you addressing this?
Freeman: The first step is, how do we help the government understand how important these visitors are? What are they coming here for? What are they doing? What's the economic impact of it? Those are things we've worked closely with them on. Then helping them to understand where some of the easy fixes are. I think that the visa issue is frankly one of the better examples of the administration demonstrating in a very tangible way its appreciation for international travel, and we're grateful for the progress that's been made there.
BTN: If there remains a challenge or if additional security changes go through, how could that affect the pricing in cities hosting these major events?
Freeman: Two comments on this. One is the average overseas traveler spends $4,000 per person per visit, so each one of those travelers you lose. It's very easy to document what the consequence is. At the end of this year, we will welcome 12 million fewer travelers than we did in 2019. Now, many of those travelers are Canadians. They're spending a little bit less than the overseas traveler, but you begin to get a picture for how much money we're losing. It's a multi-billion-dollar economic impact. That's a concern for us.
The other concern is even those travelers who maybe pay this ridiculous $250 visa fee who also want to go to a national park and pay a new fee [there]. Those are dollars that they would've spent with U.S. businesses. Those are dollars that would've gone into our economy that are now being funneled to the federal government. That is, I think, the polar opposite of what the intent of that is. It's something that needs to be revisited, and it's a major argument for why we think this $250 fee should never go into existence.
BTN: What trends are you seeing with business travel to the U.S.?
Freeman: I think that based on what we see and what we hear, we know there's a lot of uncertainty in the market when it comes to business travel. We know that the small and medium enterprises that really led the industry out of Covid have pulled back a little bit this year. It has been larger companies that have been more aggressive in their spend here in 2025.
As we look ahead to 2026, we know that the uncertainty remains. And as such, we haven't seen it to be a year of substantial growth. We do see growth, but I think it's growth of a point or two. … And I think until we restore greater certainty into the economy, that will continue. it is a significant issue. We all felt the effects of the uncertainty this year, and we expect to feel it heading into 2026.
BTN: Do you have an estimate of what the government shutdown cost U.S. travel?
Freeman: We do, and I don't want to preempt this data we're going to put out soon. But the shutdown went on for a little over six weeks. We did comprehensive research here, and you won't be surprised to know that the final figure is consistent with our $1 billion a week [estimate] when you look at the total.
BTN: Are you worried about the next potential government shutdown after Jan. 30, 2026?
Freeman: It makes us awfully concerned. These shutdowns have a massive effect on the economy, the ability of Americans to get from point A to point B. It was very discouraging for not just government workers, but for companies and others who pulled back because they were concerned about the inefficiencies of travel delays and cancellations. It really had a ripple across the U.S. economy.
I am pleased it passed out of the House Transportation Infrastructure Committee today, language that would exempt air traffic controllers from future shutdowns. They would be paid during shutdowns. We are actively lobbying on that issue. There is no reason we should be holding the travel system hostage when it comes to these shutdowns, and I think it's borderline criminal to send air traffic controllers and TSA agents to work every day without paying them for the hard effort that they're putting in.
if it passes, this language came out of committee and was explicit to air traffic controllers, we still have to take care of TSA officers, and I'm worried about that. We've got a lot of work to do, and at the end of the day, we just need Congress to do their job.
BTN: The air traffic controller shortage long has been an issue.
Freeman: We're 3,000 air traffic controllers short of where we need to be. More than 90 percent of the air traffic control facilities are understaffed. It's these shortages that slow the system down. [Department of Transportation] Secretary [Sean] Duffy has done a phenomenal job and has been outspoken about this. What [the shortages] do is they ratchet back the system. They slow down the planes and how they're operating in order to efficiently align the number of controllers they have with the demand that's out there. All of us are paying the price in terms of a slower system, the less efficient system delays, cancellations.
And what's making that situation worse is, we learned today that during the shutdown, hundreds of people in the air traffic control school pulled out. They didn't want to work in an industry where their paycheck was put at risk because of Congress's inability to do their job, and who can blame them?
BTN: What is your outlook on travel for 2026?
Freeman: The best thing that came out of the pandemic was the newfound appreciation that people had for creating memories, for having experiences for traveling, and for most Americans, if not most people around the world, that desire has continued, even as we've seen some pullback this year. … [But] they're not substituting travel with something else. I think that bodes really well for our industry.
I'm optimistic … but we've got to get the demand side up. We're down this year 23 percent on Canadian travel into the United States. We'll finish this year down 6 percent [overall]. The United States will be the only nation in the world that sees a decline in international inbound travel this year. We know domestically that while the affluent continue to spend, those who are more economically conscious have pulled back. So the industry is doing OK, but we're putting way too many barriers in the way, caveats in the way.
The most important thing we can do domestically [is] give people certainty, the confidence to spend again, and internationally, let the world know we want their business. If we can do those two things, we can drive explosive growth in the travel industry.