During this election year, according to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, the political reputation of destinations influences Democrat travelers more than Republicans.  Sixteen percent of Democrat travelers report that they avoid certain destinations based on their political reputations, compared to 8 percent of Republican travelers. 

“In this politically divided country, the political reputation of cities and states is a factor for some travelers,” said Amir Eylon, President and CEO of Longwoods International.  “Twenty-eight percent of Democrats and 25% of Republicans said that while they consider the political reputation of potential destinations, it is not the deciding factor in where they choose to travel.”

The political reputation of a destination includes whether the area is generally perceived to be “red” or “blue”, as well as the passage of controversial legislation.  Among those travelers who changed their travel plans because of a location’s politics, 11% postponed their trip, 8% changed their itinerary to avoid a specific city or state, 7% shortened the length of their trip, and 5% canceled their planned travel.

The survey, supported by Miles Partnership, was fielded September 11, 2024 using a national sample randomly drawn from a consumer panel of 1,000 adults, ages 18 and over.  Quotas were used to match Census targets for age, gender, and region to make the survey representative of the U. S. population.

Longwoods International is a leading travel and tourism research consultancy with headquarters in Columbus, Ohio and Toronto Canada, and offices in Florida, North Carolina, New York, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin.  It conducts Longwoods Travel USA®, the largest ongoing survey of American travelers, as well as image, advertising effectiveness, advertising return on investment, sentiment, and other custom research in 12 countries around the globe.