As the government shutdown heads into a second month, an antsy travel sector warned that cracks in the industry were starting to show.
"The impacts are starting to become real," Erik Hansen, senior vice president of government relations for the U.S. Travel Association, said on Oct. 27.
"There was already uncertainty on the business side, leading to some softening in business travel," he said. "We're seeing declines in international travel from Canada and some dips in other markets that are concerning. When you start to add all of this stuff up, anxiety is getting even higher."
Air traffic controllers, who missed their first full paycheck on Oct. 28, handed out leaflets at 22 airports across the U.S. that day stating "no one should be under the illusion that it's business as usual for aviation safety during the shutdown."
"Every day the shutdown continues, the negative consequences to the [National Airspace System] and its employees are compounding."
U.S. Travel said it was hearing more frequently from members in different travel sectors as the shutdown dragged on. Communities around national parks reported that impacts were "piling up" even in parks that remained open but where facilities were not being maintained. Hansen warned that the state and local governments keeping parks open "can't do that forever. We're reaching a point where that relief funding is going to dry up."
Hansen said hoteliers were also taking a huge hit from the loss of business from federal government employees and government contractors, who he said are among the largest purchasers of hotel room nights.
The American Hotel & Lodging Association and other hotel trade groups reported on Oct. 24 that the shutdown had cost the U.S. hotel industry $650 million in business. AHLA CEO Rosanna Maietta called the impact "devastating."
"Economic uncertainty and waning consumer confidence are translating into booking cancellations and discouraging future planning, especially as we head into the heart of the holiday travel season," she said.
Hansen also said it was only a matter of time before people beyond federal employees who are furloughed or working without pay started feeling real pain from the shutdown.
The breaking point for travelers, he added, might be if the shutdown drags into Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.
"It has the potential to be a real inflection point," Hansen said. "If Americans can't get home, if they can't get home efficiently, if they're going to be experiencing flight delays and cancellations when they're trying to connect with their families and loved ones for that major holiday, that would certainly be a huge setback for Congress."
National park tour disruption has largely been offset because parks are mostly open and accessible -- even if facilities aren't being maintained -- and because it is the off-season for national park travel.
National Tour Association president Catherine Prather said members had not reported disruptions or cancellations because they are "winding down their travel seasons in national parks."
But the impact, she said, could be felt during the peak 2026 park season, as operators building next year's itineraries are unable to apply for commercial use authorizations for the coming year, which grants them access to conduct tours in the parks.
Prather said that with the online system for commercial use authorization applications inaccessible and park service officials furloughed, "our tour operators are left in the dark."
Brinley Hineman, Christina Jelski and Robert Silk contributed to this report.