Trump seizes on tourism boom to expand Americanism and visits to the nation

President Donald Trump capped the U.S. economy’s vital summer tourism season with an Indy car race that filled D.C. hotel rooms following World Cup matches nationwide that brought in millions of visitors, on top of a summer-long 250th birthday celebration for the nation – making the case before the midterms that MAGA is good for the economy.

On Wednesday, the president welcomed travel-industry executives into the Oval Office to proffer a World Cup summer as proof that the administration can still move people, rooms and spending even as overseas arrivals remain soft. 

Joined by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, U.S. Travel Association chief Geoff Freeman, White House World Cup task-force director Andrew Giuliani, and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics chair Casey Wasserman, the session included leaders from American Airlines, Marriott, Hilton, MGM, Carnival, Caesars, Hard Rock, IHG, the Venetian and others. 

A summer of visitors experiencing American greatness 

During Wednesday's Oval Office gathering, Trump cited what he called record domestic travel numbers—293 billion highway miles in May alone, 78 million national park visits, and more than three million air travelers on 11 separate days—and pointed to June travel spending of $122.1 billion, up 6.2 percent, plus easier airport screening such as keeping shoes on and family lanes. 

More than 215,000 spectators packed the National Mall last week for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, IndyCar’s first race in Washington and one of the series’ biggest weekends outside the 500. Kyle Kirkwood won as Fox drew 3.28 million viewers. D.C. hotels saw a lift, and Mayor Muriel Bowser — who had already asked Penske about a multi-year deal — kept lobbying to bring the race back.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The FIFA World Cup alone drew 1.24 million international visitors, with 742,000 of those trips considered incremental, meaning, visitors who would not have traveled otherwise.  

The 2028 LA Olympics are projected to require roughly 7.4 million accommodation nights for tourists and on average, 145,167 hotel rooms will be available daily for those attending the games or affiliated events.

Hospitality Chief President

Capitalizing on tourism through hospitality is one of Trump's hallmark skills, building much of his public identity in hospitality by turning aging or overlooked properties into high-profile destinations and attaching his name to luxury hotels, clubs and resorts. 

Trump’s hospitality career started with the conversion of Midtown’s fading Commodore Hotel into the Grand Hyatt, a partnership with Hyatt that opened in 1980 and became one of his first signature New York hotels. 

He followed that with Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in 1983, then bought the landmark Plaza Hotel in 1988. 

In 1985, he purchased Mar-a-Lago and later opened it as a private club with rooms, dining and a large ballroom. The Trump name also went on destination hotels such as Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago and Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, extending the brand from New York clubs and ballrooms into full-service resort hospitality.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Amanda Head is White House Correspondent for Just The News. You can follow her here.