DIMINISHED STATES

As Donald Trump posts racist memes and ICE agents attack civilians, Anna Hart explores the ethics of travelling to the US - and asks if the America we thought we knew still exists

- Anna Hart

As a travel writer, I'm accustomed to being asked about the ethics and the viability of visiting certain international destinations. I just never expected the US to be the country that travellers are avoiding.

But in the past 12 months, the Trump administration has turned it into an unwelcoming, unsettling and dangerous place. I’m saddened, if not surprised, to learn that an Independent reader survey conducted by Simon Calder last week revealed that 80 per cent of respondents intend to avoid travelling to the US; only 11 per cent would still go. Of those with holidays already booked, one in seven are considering cancelling. Many travellers have already decided it’s not OK to visit the US right now. Others are asking people like me.

Speaking from the heart, yes, I will still visit the States. My sister and her family live in California, so giving up on the country is not an option for me. I know so many wonderful people - many working in the travel, hospitality and arts industries - who are ardently opposed to the current regime and doing everything in their power to make other people feel welcome and safe.

Turning away from them doesn’t feel right, especially as a journalist with the ability to amplify resistant voices. I grew up in Belfast in the 1980s and 90s, when nobody wanted to visit Belfast, and we all felt the chill. I believe that travel, done right, is a force for good, and that there are positive stories and experiences to be found in every place. So, for reasons both personal and professional, I’m still a yes.