Weaponization of Travel Studies

As travel boycotts and bans rise in the United States, explore the efficacy of these initiatives and their impact on various stakeholders throughout its life cycle.

Travel boycotts in the United States have risen in popularity in recent years and are regularly making headlines today. The impact of travel boycotts on changing policy has been mixed and the details of what makes for a successful or failed boycott tend to be hazy. Even less understood is how boycotts are impacting destination brand equity.

The research studies conducted by APCO is a joint effort by the Destinations International Foundation and the PCMA Education Foundation to explore whether travel boycotts and bans work to effect political change, the long-term damage to a destination's brand, and the life cycle of a boycott.

Toolkits

In today’s political climate, travel bans and boycotts are increasingly popular tools for public officials, corporate leaders and grassroots activists to undermine the passage of controversial legislation. Whether for business or leisure, travel was once a question of where to go, when to go and how much to spend. Now, disputes over social legislation have given fuel to some positioning travel as a political act. Where an individual or organization decides to travel or host a future meeting can be a sign of direct support (or critique) of state-based policies. These toolkits provide messaging, materials and alternatives that help destinations and meeting planners deal with a travel ban or boycott proactively.

Destination Organization Toolkit
This toolkit is exclusive for destination organization members of Destinations International. Please use your member login to access the toolkit.
Meeting Planner Toolkit
This toolkit provides messaging, materials and alternatives to help meeting and event planners deal with a travel ban or boycott proactively and is available to the public.
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About the Author

Andreas WeissenbornVice President of Research and AdvocacyDestinations International

About the Author

Introduced to the industry by a random internship application to Visit Baltimore, Andreas began an unexpected career that left him with a continued passion towards tourism. He leads the research and advocacy efforts of the entire organization with an eye towards developing data-driven tools to help destinations around the world tell their story.

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