Trade Group Says Government Shutdown Costs Travel Industry $1 Billion a Week

America’s travel economy suffered $1 billion in lost spending in the week since the government shutdown began, the U.S. Travel Association said Wednesday (Oct. 8).

The nonprofit organization representing the travel industry said in a press release that the economic fallout from the shutdown topped $1 billion Wednesday morning.

Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, said in the release that the government shutdown “is doing real, irreversible damage,” with travelers facing longer TSA lines and flight delays, airports reducing flights and some control towers going dark.

“The longer this drags on, the worse the cascade of damage will be — for local communities, for small businesses and for the country,” Freeman said. “Congress needs to act now and reopen the government.”

The U.S. Travel Association told Congressional leadership before the shutdown that the travel economy could lose $1 billion a week during a shutdown.

Citing data from Tourism Economics, the association said in a Sept. 25 press release that disruptions in air and rail travel and the closure of national parks and museums would drive those losses.

It also cited findings from Ipsos that 60% of Americans said they would cancel or avoid trips by air in the event of a shutdown, 81% agreed government shutdowns hurt the economy, and 86% agreed government shutdowns inconvenience air travelers.

Real estate brokerage Redfin said Wednesday that a survey it commissioned, which was conducted by Ipsos, found about a quarter of Americans were delaying or canceling a major purchase like a home or car because of the government shutdown.

Seventeen percent of Americans said they were delaying a major purchase, and another 7% said they were canceling plans for such a purchase, the company said in a press release. Sixty-five percent of Americans said the shutdown has not affected their purchasing plans, according to the release.

“A government shutdown doesn’t just stop paychecks for some federal employees — it shakes the financial confidence of Americans,” Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said in the release. “People across the country are taking in the news and thinking, ‘we’ve faced inflation, tariffs, job losses, a volatile stock market, and now a government shutdown — what’s next?”

It was reported Wednesday that the government shutdown is the latest headache facing small businesses. The impacts on these businesses include a halt to government-backed small business lending, payments on new contracts, and inspections and regulatory reviews.