Over the past 12 months, Australian media coverage of travel to the United States has increasingly skewed toward cautionary and, at times, alarmist narratives.
Headlines and commentary have often focused on isolated incidents at ports of entry, border questioning, or broader geopolitical tensions, creating a perception that travel to the USA is fraught with difficulty or risk.
While such experiences can and do occur – as they can in any destination – the frequency and framing of these stories has contributed to a perception that these challenges are the norm rather than the exception.
In contrast, the lived reality reported by the vast majority of Australian travellers paints a vastly different picture.
Feedback from travellers, trade partners and media who have visited the U.S. in the past 12 months consistently highlights seamless arrivals, warm hospitality and enthusiasm for the vibrancy across the regions they’ve visited.
Above: Michael Cassis (far left)
From major gateway cities to regional towns, travellers continue to report positive, memorable experiences that align with the USA’s longstanding reputation as a welcoming, diverse and tourism-friendly destination.
Importantly, these experiences are not outliers; they represent the typical journey for most Australians travelling to the United States today.
The Impact of Sensationalism and its reality
Yet, in the attention economy, where click-bait and algorithms are maximised for revenue, the ubiquitous negative commentary that connects the geopolitical environment to the experiences of the everyday traveller has a real impact on the tourism sector.
While there is no agreed upon number of tourism jobs currently held in the U.S, the National Travel and Tourism Office reported this was 9.5 million in 2022 alone, a year very much so still impacted by the COVID pandemic.
The same organisation suggested the value of the industry was $2.3 trillion to the U.S. economy.
When you consider global visitation to the USA dropped by an estimated 5.4 % in the past 12 months to October 2025, it’s not unrealistic to suggest that tourism jobs would have been lost at a similar rate. This could potentially mean a loss of 513,000 jobs.
And while there’s no doubt global political sentiment has been the major contributor of this, there’s also reason to believe that heightened media and social coverage of the exceptions and not the norm have also unfortunately contributed to these job losses.
Taking Responsibility to Proactively Drive Change
Recognising this imbalance, Linkd Tourism has taken a proactive and responsible role in countering misinformation and restoring nuance to the conversation.
Over the past year, we have increased our investment in both trade and media familiarisation trips to the USA, ensuring that Australian travel agents, journalists and content creators can experience the destination firsthand.
These famils have been carefully curated to reflect the real, contemporary traveller journey – from arrival procedures through to on-the-ground experiences across a range of destinations.
Participants have been actively encouraged to share their personal, lived experiences openly and authentically with their clients, audiences and readers.
This peer-to-peer storytelling has proven to be one of the most effective ways to reintroduce balance into the narrative, providing credible, experience-led perspectives that cut through fear-based or headline-driven reporting.
“Linkd Tourism firmly believes that a balanced portrayal of U.S. travel is essential for the long-term health of the tourism sector.”
While it is important to acknowledge that no destination is without occasional challenges, it is equally important that these are presented in proper context.
By amplifying real experiences and informed voices, we aim to support consumer confidence, protect industry livelihoods and reinforce the enduring strength of travel ties between Australia and the United States.
As we head into 2026, we hope the real-world examples of travel to the USA our own team have helped generate over the past 12 months will continue to drive results.
We all know that word of mouth marketing is one of the most influential out there. So, the more real-world stories we share, the more impact our web of advocates generates.
And for each decision maker we re-entice away from the headlines and back to the real-world experience, the more the web grows stronger.
The USA is still an incredible place to visit
Every destination has it’s challenges, but in a destination as vast as the U.S., specifics are important – because its 50 states are not unlike 50 different countries.
There truly is no other place on earth that offers the breath of experiences of the United States. There is only one Hollywood, one true home of Disney, one home of grunge music and one NBA.
There is only one place on Earth that has set the zeitgeist for 250 years and that is the United States.
The arts, the sport, the food, the music – the U.S. has shaped our culture for decades – and you have to be there and breathe it in to truly understand that its impact is more than simply images on a screen.
Why should you visit the U.S.? Because it’s worth it
The beauty of the U.S. is that it is 50 countries in one. So let’s be specific, find the spot/s that matches what we seek and head on back to the bright lights, the cowboys and the culture that can only be found in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.
Both the Linkd Tourism team and I stand by our belief, stand behind the U.S. – because it’s still worth it.
