The Trump toll on tourism: My German friends aren't coming back any time soon. Trump is obsessed with our manufacturing trade deficit. His blind spot on travel is astonishing given his stake in hotels, casinos and resorts.

Carrie Scherpelz | Opinion contributor

Recently I traveled from Madison, Wis., to our sister city of Freiburg, Germany, and spent several weeks there. The welcome was so warm I can’t wait to go back. A surprising number of people offered generous hospitality, including their favorite cycling routes and restaurants and a tour of the beautiful Black Forest region.

As I said goodbye, I thanked a couple of newfound friends and invited them to visit me in Madison. Their response broke my heart. They said they no longer felt welcome in America. Why? Longtime world travelers, they have enjoyed many trips to America. But entering New York City through customs in February, they were delayed for several hours, questioned twice and fingerprinted twice — a new and unpleasant experience. They shrugged and told me there are many other nice places in the world to visit, and they don't plan to be back anytime soon.

In 1956, President Eisenhower introduced the idea of linking American cities with sister cities around the world to promote citizen diplomacy. Our current president has made diplomacy difficult. I found myself apologizing constantly for Trump’s new America, for his travel ban proposals and suspicious scrutiny of travelers and their private data, as well as his rude treatment of NATO and his aggressive crackdown on immigrants. Our friends abroad are taking note of how we treat our fellow citizens, especially people of color. Some are understandably hesitant to be our guests.

There is concern in the travel industry about what has been called a Trump slump. Summer bookings for travel to the USA are down 3.5% over last year — while bookings are up for all other major destinations, according to Forwardkeys, a travel data firm. Loews Hotels is seeing declines this summer in travelers from many international destinations and cancellations by groups that have international attendees.

"A perceived ‘anti-welcome’ sentiment appears to be taking a toll in key international markets," Ernest Wooden, president of the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, told MarketWatch. A recent forecast found that his own county could potentially lose 800,000 international visitors over three years, totaling $736 million in direct tourism spending.

Last year, business and leisure travel generated $2.3 trillion for the U.S. economy, supporting 15.3 million American jobs. In fact, inbound international travel is America’s largest service export. Payment for goods and services purchased by foreigners created an $87 billion trade surplus, larger than any other sector of the U.S. economy. Without all those visitors, our $500 billion trade deficit would be nearly 17% larger, a big deal for the economy.

Yet the Trump obsession with our trade deficit is laser focused on manufacturing, rather than services such as tourism and travel. His blind spot is astonishing given his business interests in hotels, casinos and resorts. He must know that his own bottom line will suffer from a decline in international travel both to and from the USA. In another contradiction, Trump says he wants to keep jobs at home while his policies deter international visitors who support millions of domestic jobs. A bonus: the job of a waiter, front-desk clerk or tour guide can’t be outsourced to another country.

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As I well know from my career in marketing, perception is everything and negative stories spread quickly. It’s difficult to undo the damage to a brand’s reputation, but it’s mandatory if you want to stay in business.

My Freiburg friends were loyal customers who trusted they would have a positive experience and were likely to spread the word to other potential customers. Loyalty is extremely valuable, because gaining a new customer is difficult and costly. It's risky to ignore the complaints of our most satisfied visitors.

Ask yourself this. If you could avoid a big hassle by skipping a visit to one country and choosing another, wouldn’t you change your plans? If enough foreigners agree that a visit to America isn’t worth the trouble, our economy will suffer and, more important, so will our reputation.

The way we treat strangers tells the world who we are. I want to be known for extending a hand of welcome.

Carrie Scherpelz is a marketing professional with a business based in Madison, Wis.

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