It’s not unusual for Americans to worry about the possibility of civil unrest while traveling to volatile areas of the world. What’s extraordinary is that U.S. travelers are now expressing concerns about election-related violence even when they’re not leaving the country.
A recent poll of more than 1,000 U.S. travelers conducted this month by The Vacationer travel website found that around 64 percent of Americans said they would avoid travel to U.S. cities around the election due to potential mass protests or riots.
Just 35.5 percent said the 2024 election would not affect their travel plans. Specifically, about 25 percent of respondents said they would avoid travel out of fear of unrest if Democrat Kamala Harris wins on Nov. 5, while about 16 percent said they would do so if Republican Donald Trump is returned to the White House.
About 24 percent of those polled said they would curtail their travel plans regardless of who wins the election.
Looking longer term, respondents had more faith in Trump (about 35 percent) than Harris (about 32 percent) to lower travel costs, such as flights, hotels, car rentals, and gasoline, although another third of U.S. travelers didn’t think either candidate would make any difference.
Respondents gave Harris the edge regarding who was more likely to enact better consumer protections for travelers, such as making it easier to get compensation from airlines when flights are delayed.
The poll found that about 36 percent of respondents said Harris would be the better advocate for travelers’ rights, compared to 35 percent who favored Trump. Another 29 percent said neither candidate would make an impact.
Americans were more decisive when it came to who they’d rather sit next to on a flight, with 55 percent preferring Harris and 45 percent favoring Trump as a seatmate.
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