Tourist shut down in the United States

Until finally being resolved today, the government shutdown in the United States had the effect of cutting of the hospitality industry’s tourist inflows by closing down hundreds of tourist attractions and causing uncertainty over border customs, pushing industry leaders to take matters into their own hands.

As is usually the case with the United States, its cold has spread to the international community as government gridlock shut down the country. The act of brinksmanship was caused by disagreement in congress over raising the national debt ceiling, threatening to default on the country's debts. Millions of government workers were out of the job from October 1st through 16th as a result, with countless government services unavailable, and a high amount of fiscal uncertainty globally. The effects were even more blatant in some countries where the American Battle Monuments Commission operates cemeteries and monuments. In France in particular, workers in Lorraine, Normandy, and Suresnes were put on leave while the American congress sorted itself out on the other side of the Atlantic.

One of the majorly detrimental aspects of the crisis was towards the tourism community. Tourists from all over the world had their holidays unexpectedly ruined at the beginning of the shutdown, as people often did not realize just how many popular tourism sites would be closed by the affairs within congress. However, as the crisis continued, potential tourists became savvier to the site-seeing threat and less certain about the availability of visa and passport services, prompting them to cancel or delay their plans. The tourism industry in the United States therefore had the double blows to direct revenues from tourist sites and the hotels they usually frequent.

Dismay from unsuspecting tourists

"The government has temporarily shut both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Please join our one hour sightseeing tour and see the magnificent sights of New York harbor", read notices around the harbor. Even if tourists were aware of the shutdown, they did not expect such wide-ranging effects. People who had travelled from across the country or even across the Atlantic for a long-awaited holiday found that they had paid for useless tickets whether to museums or special sites. But the shutdown affected tourism in a much deeper way; more than 400 sites were closed for the three weeks of gridlock. From Ellis Island to Alcatraz Island, museums, galleries, monuments, parks, zoos... all turned their lights out. Unsuspecting visitors who had been camping in national parks were given two days to evacuate. Another hard-hit major city was Washington D.C., forced to close the 19 museums and galleries run by the Smithsonian Institution, as well as the National Zoo.

Two sectors largely concerned in this case are national parks and hotels. According to the National Parks Conservation Association, U.S. national parks attract nearly 300 million visitors per year. Because the 400 plus national parks were closed due to the shutdown, as many as 750,000 visitors were turned away daily. The American Hotel & Lodging Association estimated that communities near national parks were losing $76 million each day in visitor spending. The nation's hotels alone were losing more than $8 million each day because of the shutdown. This pattern was not just limited to leisure, but also had an effect on business travel. In a survey conducted by the Global Business Travel Association, 50% of business travelers said that they had cancelled bookings due to the shutdown. When losses are extended to all travel-related activity, the estimate rises to $152 million according to the U.S. Travel Association. In whatever niche, the U.S. government assured massive business losses with its gridlock, especially affecting the hotel industry.

American hoteliers take action

This situation of massive economic hemorrhaging by the U.S. tourism industry caused, the American Hotel & Lodging Association to, on the 10th day, send a letter to President Obama and Congress asking for "an immediate agreement to fund the government and establish a degree of economic certainty to allow for continued growth". According to the letter, the high economic uncertainty impaired "the lodging industry's ability to hire, grow, and contribute to the economy". In a press release from AH&LA, president and CEO Katherine Lugar stated, "hoteliers are a major economic driver and job creator across the country, and the industry's ability to continue its growth is hamstrung by inaction from our policymakers". She concluded: "The administration, House of Representatives, and Senate need to act swiftly in the best interests of the entire nation and end this shutdown". Signatories to the letter included Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Hilton Worldwide, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Loews Hotels, and Best Western International.

InterContinental Hotels Group expanded on its participation in a direct communication with Hospitality-ON, noting the expansive effects of the shutdown on various economic sectors: "The travel and tourism industry is a critical part of the U.S. economy, providing jobs for millions of people and generating revenues for small business owners, vital corporations and the government". The hotelier committed to "monitoring the government shutdown situation closely, including the possible short- and long-term impacts on the hotel industry". This suggests that the road to recovery from this crisis has only just begun. In the meantime, IHG is pursuing the nation's reputation repair, "ensuring that domestic travelers and foreign visitors to the U.S. are able to continue traveling and have the most convenient experience while doing so".

The sun comes out for national parks

As the crisis neared the October 17th deadline, some monuments were finally able to be reopened. The National Park Service managed a deal with New York State in which it donated $370,000 to keep itself operational and partly offset trade losses. Under this deal, Liberty Island and the Ground Zero Memorial were reopened until the 17th, but tourists were still disappointed to learn that this was not extended to Ellis Island. The National Park Service also announced deals with the states of Arizona, Colorado and Utah to reopen tourist sites. The National Parks Service succeeded in reopening the Grand Canyon in Arizona for $651,000, the Rocky Mountains in Colorado for 362,700, and eight national parks and monuments in Utah for $1.6 million. However, the group was unable to reopen Yosemite National Park or Alcatraz during the turmoil.

The U.S. government's inability to solve its ideological disagreements gridlocked the country for 17 days, touching all sectors of activity, not just government employees. Through the hospitality industry, national woes became international, detouring travelers who would have otherwise contributed to the incapacitated destination. The affair shows the connectivity within our society, and dangers of one bad apple.