Brew Markets · Nov 11, 2026 · 27m · 19m saved
With Geoff Freeman, President and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association
Photo via ustravel.org
The United States hosted the World Cup this summer, and overseas travel to the country still fell 2% in June and 7% in July. Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, told John Croteau on Brew Markets why visitors are staying away and why flying costs more.
A World Cup is supposed to bring in visitors. Geoff said it did not, though it paid off in a different way.
"Overseas travel to the US was down 2% in June and 7% in July [despite the World Cup]... we did the impossible. We hosted the World Cup and we had fewer people come to the United States." — Geoff Freeman
Geoff's association speaks in Washington for the whole travel industry, from hotels and theme parks to cruise lines, rental cars and destinations. Years ago it was the driving force behind the creation of TSA PreCheck.
The full interview is covered here so you can skip it. 27 minutes of audio, 8 minutes of reading.
Here are the 9 calls that matter.
Key Takeaways
Overseas travel to the US fell 7% in July even as the country hosted the World Cup
Canadian travel to the US is down 25%, which Geoff attributes partly to anger over policy
American Airlines faces about $6B of unbudgeted fuel costs this year, and fares have risen to cover it
US airport work takes 3 years or more against 8 months in Europe, by one European operator's account
Only 35% of travelers use TSA PreCheck on a given day
Travel is a volume business, and it needs mid-scale hotels and budget travelers as well as the premium end
1. Inconsistency Irritates
Geoff said the biggest frustration for travelers is not any single step. It is that each airport works differently, from whether bins return through the X-ray machine on their own to whether shoes stay on.
Geoff Freeman says inconsistency bothers travelers more than any single delay
"Nothing irritates travelers more than inconsistency." — Geoff Freeman
Every airport is built differently, so there is no easy way to standardize. Geoff cited an industry saying: "if you've seen one airport you've seen one airport." Most trips go fine, in Geoff's account, and the bad ones are what people remember.
"I would say the number of experiences that are poor are actually quite small. The challenge is that one poor experience really stands out for us." — Geoff Freeman
Wait times in standard lines are much shorter than five or ten years ago, as TSA has let travelers keep their shoes on and started matching faces instead of checking driver's licenses. PreCheck use is still lower than the association wants: "Only 35% of travelers on any given day are in PreCheck."
