Is the U.S. Tourism Industry Capitulating to Fear?

(Asking for a friend. And by “friend,” I mean all of us.)

Quick context before we get weird:

This was sparked by a recent article in eTurboNews reporting on a warning from Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, criticizing certain U.S. immigration enforcement practices; language that’s now circulating globally and, unsurprisingly, showing up in how international travelers are thinking about the U.S.

The part that caught my attention wasn’t just the warning itself.

It was the near-total silence from the U.S. tourism industry afterward.

Okay. Now let’s talk.

Everyone in tourism is tired. Like… “if one more thing happens, I will simply lie down on the carpet,” tired.

So when an international human rights warning about the U.S. starts making the global rounds, I understand the collective instinct to say:

“Nope. Not today. I do marketing, not… whatever this is.”

Totally fair.

But, lbh, while the industry quietly backs away from the conversation, the conversation is very much not backing away from us.

And that’s where it gets awkward.

The part no one wants to say out loud

Tourism runs on vibes.

Confidence. Predictability. Emotional safety. The subtle feeling of “I know what I’m walking into.”

So when international headlines start raising questions about the U.S. - fair or not, nuanced or not - travelers don’t pull up policy briefs.

They ask:

• “Will this be weird?”

• “Am I going to regret this?”

• “Do I want to explain myself at a border after a 9-hour flight?”

And right now, the industry response is basically:

...whistles casually, rearranges brochures 🤷

Silence isn’t neutral. It’s just… noticeable.

There’s a belief in tourism that if we don’t touch something, it can’t touch us.

That worked better when the internet was dial-up.

Today, silence doesn’t read as “professional restraint.” It reads as “oh… they’re not sure either.”

Which is not the reassurance travelers are looking for.

And to be clear, no one is asking DMOs to grab a megaphone and start yelling opinions into the void.

This really isn’t about politics; it’s about presence.

Because when tourism leaders don’t contextualize what travelers are hearing, someone else will.

And they will not use your brand voice.

Let’s talk about the fear (because yes, it’s real)

Most tourism organizations are publicly funded. Translation: There are approximately 47 invisible tripwires attached to every sentence.

So the hesitation makes sense.

Fear of backlash. Fear of funding drama. Fear of being screenshot, subtweeted, or misunderstood by someone who only read the headline anyway.

But, and hear me out:

When fear becomes the strategy, the destination stops feeling confident.

And confidence is kind of our whole product.

The risk isn’t saying the wrong thing; it’s saying nothing.

Travelers don’t need perfection. They don’t even need agreement.

They need a signal that someone is paying attention and capable of separating fact from panic.

A simple:

• “Here’s what applies to visitors.”

• “Here’s what doesn’t.”

• “Here’s what we’re watching.”

That’s it.

Not a stance. A steady hand.

Right now, the absence of that voice is doing more brand damage than a carefully worded acknowledgment ever could.

This isn’t a marketing moment. It’s a leadership one.

Tourism loves to call itself a bridge between cultures.

But bridges are most important when conditions get windy.

So no, this isn’t about blowing things up for sport.

It’s about asking whether our instinct to stay quiet is actually protecting us… or just making us look weak at the exact moment confidence matters most.

—

I’m Jenn Barbee. Still the biggest fan of this industry. Still allergic to pretending nothing’s happening. 🖤