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BERLIN,— Donald Trump faced a devastating verdict from German travel industry delegates at the DRV-Hauptstadtkongress today. During an informal audience exercise witnessed by this writer, no hands visibly rose in support of a Republican election victory or the proposition that Trump had helped tourism. Yet almost everyone still considered the United States worth visiting—with a significant reservation: not now.
The message was directed at Trump’s leadership. Affection for the United States, its people, and its extraordinary destinations remained evident.
For U.S. tourism, that combination should be alarming. German travel professionals still recognize the country they have spent decades selling and visiting. But the conduct and reputation of its government are making that enthusiasm increasingly difficult to translate into an uncomplicated recommendation.
Rising share prices and healthier retirement portfolios cannot, on their own, repair that damage.
All destinations. One voice. A striking rejection of Trump.
Leaving the wars and instability caused by the Trump government aside, hundreds of top representatives of the German travel and tourism industry were united today on the direction the United States of America is taking from a tourism business point of view.
The German Travel Association, Deutscher Reiseverband, uses the slogan “Alle Ziele. Eine Stimme.” — “All destinations. One voice.”
During today’s presentation, the visible response to questions about Trump appeared remarkably united.
The speaker was Julius van de Laar, a campaign and strategy consultant whose experience includes Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns and directing voter mobilization in Ohio in 2012. His keynote addressed the U.S. midterm elections and their international implications.
From my position in the packed room, I saw nobody raise a hand when asked whether they hoped for a Republican victory. Nor did I see hands raised when delegates were asked whether Trump had helped travel and tourism, or contributed something positive for Germany or our sector.
This was an informal show of hands, without a recorded count or representative sampling. It was not an official DRV resolution.
But it was a striking moment among people whose professional lives depend on international travel, commercial relationships, and persuading customers to explore the world.
When an audience like this struggles to identify a positive contribution from the U.S. president, Washington has a reputation problem with direct commercial implications.
The country of unlimited possibilities
For generations, Germans have called the United States “das Land der unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten” — the country of unlimited possibilities.
The phrase captures something deeper than a holiday preference.
The United States represented freedom, ambition, reinvention, open roads, and the possibility of a different life. Its music, films, universities, landscapes, and cultural diversity created an attraction that extended far beyond tourism marketing.
For many Germans, a first visit was a personal milestone.
That affection helps explain why today’s response felt so severe. There was still enthusiasm for visiting the country. The hesitation concerned the present political environment.
My interpretation of the room was unmistakable: the United States retains its appeal, while Trump’s government is undermining confidence in the experience of going there.
For a destination built partly on the promise of freedom, that is an extraordinary reversal.
Yes, stocks can rise—and retirement accounts can benefit
One photograph from the presentation shows a rising long-term S&P 500 chart alongside “The Golden Age” imagery.
There is a legitimate economic point here. Stock market gains create real wealth for investors. People with stock investments in their 401(k) retirement accountscan benefit as those holdings increase in value.
Those gains deserve acknowledgment.
But the photographed chart spans multiple presidencies. Its long upward trajectory cannot reasonably be credited to Trump alone.
More broadly, stock prices reflect expectations about future corporate profits, interest rates, technology, and global business conditions. Large listed companies can perform well while many households struggle with everyday expenses.
A retirement account can grow while its owner’s rent, fuel bill, or insurance costs also rise. Someone with substantial investments may feel wealthier; someone with little invested receives much less benefit from the same rally.
And money held for retirement generally serves a different purpose from the cash needed for this month’s bills.
A rising portfolio is welcome. It is an incomplete measure of how a country feels to live in—or visit.
Gasoline, housing, and the household reality
The latest U.S. price figures illustrate that disconnect.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that consumer prices rose 3.7% over the year to September 2026. Gasoline prices increased 9.1% during September, seasonally adjusted, while shelter costs rose 0.4% during the month and 3.2% over the year. 2026 M09 Results
Housing requires particular care: the shelter index measures housing-related costs, including rents and estimated owner housing costs. It is not a measure of house purchase prices.
Nevertheless, the household pressure is clear. A family cannot pay its rent by pointing to a favorable stock market chart.
Nor does every economic indicator show deterioration. Different households experience the economy differently, and no president individually controls all prices. Energy markets, international conflict, housing supply, borrowing costs, and business decisions all matter.
Still, a government claiming exceptional economic success should expect its claims to be tested against everyday affordability.
For tourism, this matters twice: financially stressed U.S. residents have less room for discretionary spending, while overseas visitors also consider what their holiday will cost.
The mood inside the United States matters, too
The University of Michigan’s preliminary October survey placed U.S. consumer sentiment at 46.3, down from 48.1 in Septemberand 53.6 a year earlier.
That does not establish how every person feels, or measure the entire social atmosphere. But it challenges the suggestion that rising financial markets automatically produce widespread confidence.
A visitor experiences a country through people: the border officer, hotel receptionist, taxi driver, restaurant employee, and strangers encountered along the way.
Financial anxiety and political tension can influence how a destination is perceived, even where hospitality remains excellent.
Many U.S. tourism professionals continue to deliver precisely the warmth international visitors hope to find. Their work becomes harder when federal rhetoric and highly publicized enforcement cases dominate the conversation abroad.
The detention Germans have not forgotten
The case of Berlin tattoo artist Jessica Lia Bröscheremains especially damaging.
Brösche was detained after attempting to enter the United States from Mexico in January 2025. She returned to Germany in March after approximately six weeks in custody. Reports linked the detention to suspected unauthorized work after she carried tattoo equipment; she described severe distress and more than a week in solitary confinement. www.tagesspiegel.de
Her detention lasted weeks, rather than several months. That correction matters. The documented duration is disturbing enough.
In her subsequent interview with The Berliner , she described difficulties contacting people who could help and arranging a return home. Countries can enforce entry rules. Travelers also judge proportionality, transparency, and humane treatment.
For a prospective visitor, the frightening question becomes personal: could a misunderstanding turn my holiday into an ordeal? That fear is difficult to answer with a photograph of a beach—or a rising stock index.
China’s advantage in the room was another warning
A photographed presentation slide asked whether respondents would prefer dependence on China or on the United States under Trump.
Attributed on the slide to POLITICO/Public First, it displayed German responses of 40% for China, 24% for the United States under Trump, and 36% “don’t know.”
The wording matters. This concerned preferred dependence, rather than a general trust rating or holiday choice. China held a plurality, not an outright majority.
Separately, in the informal comparison I witnessed in the congress room, China appeared to attract substantially more support.
That should trouble anyone who values transatlantic relations.
It suggests that doubts about the Trump administration have become strong enough to weaken an advantage the United States should be able to draw from longstanding relationships with Germany.
The booking warning is already visible
The commercial context strengthens the concern.
In its assessment released on October 15, the DRV reported growth in Germany’s organized summer travel market, while identifying particularly pronounced demand weakness for the United States and United Arab Emirates in early winter 2026/27 bookings. These findings cover the distribution channels in its analysis, rather than every German journey.
Earlier this year, DRV research identified political and social developments, affordability, and entry-related hurdles as factors behind U.S. booking restraint. The United States nevertheless remained the leading long-haul summer destination in that booking snapshot.
The country continues to attract visitors. The opportunity is still enormous.
But retaining affection while losing confidence is a dangerous position for any destination.
Trump should hear this message clearly
My assessment is that the Trump administration’s standing among the delegates who visibly responded in Berlin was extraordinarily poor.
The room offered no visible endorsement when invited to identify benefits from his leadership. Its continuing affection for the United States made that rejection more powerful.
U.S. hotel workers, guides, restaurateurs, and destination marketers have every reason to demand that Washington take such reactions seriously. Their livelihoods depend partly on a welcome they cannot establish through marketing alone.
Germans have long loved the country of unlimited possibilities.
What I witnessed in Berlin was the frustration of travel professionals who still see those possibilities—and increasingly struggle to reconcile them with the reputation of its government.
The brutal message was aimed at Trump: we still want to visit the United States. Your leadership is giving us reasons to hesitate.
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