Tighter border rules are putting European tourists off holidaying in the US, according to Europe\u2019s biggest package trip operator.<\/p>\n
Tui<\/a>\u2019s chief executive, Sebastian Ebel, said there had been a \u201csignificant decline\u201d in travel to the US, due to a multitude of factors including \u201cthe atmosphere, what you hear from border control\u201d.<\/p>\n He said European tourists were opting instead to visit Canada and other long-haul destinations such as Africa and Asia.<\/p>\n The comments from Tui\u2019s chief executive follow a string of reports of Europeans and other foreigners with valid visas for the US facing interrogation, detainment and deportation, including a British tourist<\/a>, three Germans<\/a>, a Canadian<\/a> and an Australian<\/a> who were each held and then deported.<\/p>\n Sarah Shaw, from New Zealand, and her six-year-old son, who live in the US, are being held at a US immigration centre<\/a> after they were detained crossing the Canada-US border.<\/p>\n Donald Trump\u2019s administration plans to impose bonds \u2013 some as high as $15,000 for some tourism and business visas<\/a>. It also plans a $250 \u201cvisa integrity fee<\/a>\u201d for visitors. Asked about the changes, Ebel said: \u201cI expect that the impact will be seen, and this policy will change. Will it change in three months, will it change in three years? I have no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n Tui\u2019s report of a decline in US travel by its customers comes as figures have highlighted a sharp fall in overall tourism to the country in recent months; the industry is expected to lose out on billions of dollars this year as a result of government actions. Travel from Canada and Mexico in 2025 has fallen by 20% compared with last year, according to the US Travel Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ebel played down the significance of the fall to Tui, saying its US business was \u201cnot of essence for us. It\u2019s a nice long-haul business, good margins, but it\u2019s not in the order of magnitude, not a big thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Ebel said customers would choose to visit places where there was \u201cseamless travel\u201d and called for travel between the UK and the EU to be made easier.<\/p>\n British visitors are allowed to use e-gates but they still have to get their passports stamped until at least October<\/a> because of Brexit<\/a> restrictions.<\/p>\n Ebel said: \u201cI\u2019m so happy that there\u2019s seamless travel for me as a German, to Spain, to Greece. I would wish that it would be the same seamlessness to the UK.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not seamless, and that\u2019s not good for the UK, and it\u2019s not good for Europe either.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Business Today<\/p>\n Get set for the working day \u2013 we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Tui reported a 2% fall in summer bookings as a result of conflict in the Middle East, but said ticket prices were 3% higher, helping to balance out higher costs.<\/p>\n