Hello, Pursuits readers! It’s Lily Girma, your travel correspondent. I’ve just returned from a weekend trip to Boston with my husband. We stayed at the Charlesmark Hotel in Back Bay, strolled Boston Common and went to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park—his birthday gift. We also hopped over to Providence, Rhode Island, to visit friends. It was a fun trip that reminded me of the ease of domestic travel. No passports needed, no worries about currency exchange rates and no immigration lines. 

Given current economic and geopolitical tensions, we’re now considering stacking our travels with backyard exploration this year. And we’re not alone: At least a third of the 1,000 US consumers who were surveyed by travel research and marketing firm MMGY earlier this month say they plan to travel closer to home this year.

US President Donald Trump after signing executive orders on Jan. 23.  Photographer: Yuri Gripas/Abaca

But even this data could be outdated given the volatility of the news cycle. Travel agents we spoke to this week say their clients are rethinking established plans to go abroad. Just yesterday, Henley Vazquez, co-founder of Fora Travel, told my colleague that she and her industry friends are bracing for a shift in business—and soon.

Clients, she says, are asking questions such as “ ‘Are we not popular abroad? or ‘Are things getting too expensive?’ ” while also worrying that their investment portfolios and 401(k)s have just gone “down by a whole lot.” The net effect, Vazquez says, is that they’re focusing “a little bit more on domestic travel rather than going abroad.”

If you’re switching to domestic travel this year, consider these new hotels opening near national parks. Photographer: Red Cliffs Lodge Zion

When I last chimed in here, it was already obvious that President Donald Trump would reshape the American travel industry. The writing was on the wall in January, with executive orders on enhanced visa screenings and travel bans, plus looming US tariffs on Canada and Mexico. (And we know how all that turned out.)

But making Americans refocus their travels domestically won’t exactly make the US travel industry great again. The economic turmoil around the  “reciprocal tariffs” we read about all week is not only making it harder for Americans to commit to trips abroad, it’s also making it harder for foreigners to access the country. 

Air France is cutting cabin fares. Good news if you’re a fan of  incredible pastries in Paris. Photographer: Mary Devinat for Bloomberg Businessweek

Canadian flight bookings to the US through September are down 70% year-over-year, according to a report by OAG Aviation Worldwide, causing United Airlines to pull back on routes that cross the northern border. In another report, 50% of Brits said they also plan to travel locally this year. Delta Air Lines has cut down on capacity increases this year, and demand has been low enough on Air France that the carrier is reducing international economy fares. (Watch this space! After so many months of bemoaning skyrocketing travel costs, we may soon spot some good deals out there.)

It’s not just airlines making changes. European bookings to the US this summer have fallen by 25%, according to Sébastien Bazin, chief executive officer of French hotel group Accor SA, which is estimated to result in a $9 billion loss in visitor spending.

Luxury travelers are choosing locations away from crowds, like the Athens Riviera. Photographer: Richard T. Nowitz/Getty Images

Hotels up and down the West Coast (and in Florida) are feeling iced out by Canadians, who normally come thaw from their chilly winters in places such as Palm Springs, California, whose downtown is now plastered with signs saying “Palm Springs loves Canada.” We’ve even heard that some hotels in California are considering offering discounts to our northern neighbors to try to curb the damage.

But not everyone is bracing for the worst. 

Julia Simpson, head of the World Travel & Tourism Council, put some of my worries at bay this week. After sharing  why she thinks tariffs will only cause a “blip” in the travel economy, she reminded me of an important point: Tourism has always been one of the first industries to bounce back after every major world crisis.

Meanwhile, Misty Belles, who heads global public relations at Virtuoso Travel Network, told me that luxury travelers continue to prioritize travel above almost everything else. To wit, she says the firm continues to see growth in six-figure splurge trips, with 81% more people spending $150,000-plus on a single vacation now compared with 2023.

There’s one notable thing they’re adding to their budgets, though: “cancel for any reason” insurance coverage.

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I haven’t stopped thinking about The White Lotus since the third season wrapped up last weekend. I watched it religiously—but only because I kept hoping showrunner Mike White would do justice to the destination. Instead, Thailand was treated as a scenic backdrop to the usual cast of rich Western tourists, with little insight into its layered history and culture. 

It’s clear White Lotus boosts travel demand wherever it goes. But who really benefits from this tourism boom, beyond billionaires and foreign hospitality brands? It’s a question that the travel industry had to face during the pandemic and that it continues to address. In recent years, some hoteliers have shifted their models and added ways to give back to host communities—we’ve seen it in Morocco, Peru and other popular destinations. 

Luxury hotelier Thierry Teyssier’s business model prioritizes the needs of host communities and not just those of his guests. Source: 700,000 Heures Impact

Of course, that’s not easy to weave into the series’ satirical leanings, which center on the absurdities of wealth and luxury tourism. By all means, keep the cliché wellness and temple visit scenes and the debauchery of privileged tourists in “paradise.” 

But why not layer this exoticized view of Thailand with more meaningful cultural interactions? (After all, this is what many guests at the Four Seasons Koh Samui, where the show is partly set, actually ask for.) On Koh Samui, full moon parties and snake farm trips could have contrasted against a Thai cooking class or a shopping outing at the Fisherman’s Village night market, where small businesses set up charming stalls and stores.

Bangkok has so much more to offer than strip clubs and debauchery. Photographer: Chalinee Thirasupa/Bloomberg

At a time when tourism has become the poster child for negative impacts on the environment and on host communities—Venice, Bali, Barcelona, anyone?—White could have inspired his 15 million viewers to behave better than his cast of characters does. Instead we’re stuck with the narrative that tourism takes from locals more than it gives to them. 

At least that’s what I felt, as Pornchai and Gaitok ended up mere pawns in a system designed to keep them oppressed. (And Mook, what was up with Mook?) Meanwhile (most of) the tourists headed home concerned with how their lives changed in Thailand, rather than how they may have had an impact on Koh Samui.

And if you read just one thing...

Loyalty points aren’t worth what they used to be. Illustration: Simone Noronha for Bloomberg

Loyalty points have seeped into every area of our lives: You can collect them on your morning coffee, your commuter train ticket, your lunchtime sandwich, the spin class you go to after work, the food you buy at the supermarket, as well as the flights and hotel for your summer break. 

But as points proliferated into more areas, they have also often become less generous. What to do?