Red States, Blue States – What Colors are Visitors Now?

Reboot - Political Values on Destination Selection

Just a week after the 2026 mid-term election, the only clarity we have tying political values and destination selection is that nothing is clear! No one had predicted the magnitude of this topsy-turvy outcome.

The electorate nationwide has spoken; assumptions have been upended, and political maps have been redrawn. What about the travel map?  

The election has prompted me to revisit how political and personal values may have changed, and how that affects travel choices.

For destination marketers, these are fundamental questions that go to the heart of understanding prospective visitors, shaping destination perceptions, and maintaining a competitive edge.

What Does Research Tell Us?

As TAG, we researched and addressed the impacts of visitor values on destination selection in 2021, 2024, and 2025. Then, as now, we asked the challenging and insightful question, “Do a traveler’s personal politics and individual values influence destination selection, and if so, to what extent?” Our 2024 article concluded that:

A destination's political orientation within the United States significantly influences tourists' decision-making. Policy priorities, cultural values, political events, LGBTQ+ rights, and gun control policies are just a few examples of how political orientation can shape visitors' perceptions and choices. By understanding how political factors affect tourism, destinations can develop strategies to attract a broader range of visitors and create experiences that align with their political orientation. Travelers, in turn, can make informed decisions and support destinations that align with their values, contributing to the growth and development of tourism within the United States.

A fair number of both academic and practitioner studies confirm that political values/ideology influence not only destination selection but also the types of destinations and activities. 

• According to a national tracking study by Longwoods International, 37% of American travelers factor a destination's political reputation into their travel decisions, and 14% report avoiding certain destinations entirely because of their politics (July 2024). [1]

  
  

• Research published in the Asian Journal of Tourism Research indicates that political variables improve the model fit for domestic U.S. destination choices better than traditional demographic variables alone. [1]

  
  

• Travelers increasingly favor businesses or regions that align with their personal values, steering clear of areas experiencing democratic backsliding, high corruption, or severe civil unrest. [1, 2]

In that 2024 article, we also wrote, “The country has never been so divided as it is today. Who would have thought that political and social divisions in the country would be as deep as they are today?” 

After this election, while we may still be divided, perhaps the divisions have coalesced around certain overriding issues that reveal more in common, possibly opening up opinions that drive destination selection.

That is, as the political scenario has shifted, does the travel scenario change accordingly?

The question is: while the overall electorate has shifted its party votes, to what extent has its destination value equation changed?

Destination visitor surveys typically do not ask questions about visitors’ political leanings and values. These questions are even more important as consumers become more politically aware. Research response intel will provide personal and political value intel to inform destination consideration and help reframe marketing, messaging, and positioning. 

As to where we go from here, and what the implications are for destination marketing, I have divided my analysis into two broad categories:

1.     Factors that impact overall tourism volume and results

2.     Traveler values on destination selection  

Factors that Impact Overall Tourism

Over the past six years (and counting), “business as usual” has been anything but for the travel industry, from COVID-19 impacts in 2020, uneven, limited recovery in 2022-2023, to the late 2024 election followed by anti-international rhetoric and corresponding entry policies dampening inbound travel in 2025 and 2026.

In response, destinations and travel marketers have heightened their market awareness and used flexibility and nimbleness to respond to constant change.  

Going forward, several tourism-related factors may affect the industry regardless of politics, but they still need to be considered because they can impact local and national performance.  

A Wall Street Journal article (Jacob Passey, Nov. 6, 2026) recaps the response to the question of what the election could mean for travelers, posed to Geoff Freeman, CEO, U.S. Travel Association, summarized as follows:

• Potential airport shutdowns that create airport and flight chaos, including TSA staff payments during shutdowns, and pending legislation that remains to be passed.

  
  

• Continuation or end of the Iran War, which has disrupted flights through the Middle East and beyond, jacked up jet fuel costs, and raised related passenger airfares. This factor’s impact on volume and flights remains largely unknown.

  
  

• International visitation to the U.S.: continuing declines in volume and spending over the past two years, driven by rhetoric and uncomfortable or offensive policies faced by inbound international visitors. How might visitor perceptions of and travel behavior to the U.S. play out with leadership changes?  

  
  

• The strength of the U.S. currency, often in flux, has been relatively strong, prompting more U.S. residents to travel outside the U.S. and dampening inbound visitation. Signs suggest this may ease next year but may remain a competitive disadvantage for the U.S. 

While it is too early to foresee outcomes for any of these factors, they are being considered and affect destinations and travelers alike. Additionally, the article doesn’t address many other issues, some more apparent, such as inflation/costs, global climate change impacts, travel-related policies, and visitor perceptions. Then there are the unknowns, on no one’s radar, that also impact travel and tourism.   

Our take is to assume changes will continue and likely accelerate. Be proactive and alert; maintain vigilance, constantly monitor the current travel landscape and the horizon ahead for signals that may need timely and appropriate responses.   

Traveler Values on Destination Selection 

As we wrote in our earlier article, visitors perceive a destination's political position, whether obvious or not, through exposure to news, travel information, social media, conversations with friends and family, and their own travel research.

These sources give them insight into destination governance, policy priorities, and cultural values, which can shape their perceptions and influence their decision-making. The traveler’s own values and desires also influence their travel decisions. 

However, last week’s election results may have upended visitor perceptions and prompted a reassessment of destinations they now consider more attractive and aligned with their values.

Given the “blue” tilt to the election results in regions across the country, are these visitors widening their destination list to places they now consider more desirable, even “must-see” areas? Conversely, are “red” voters in a similar mindset, or are they thinking of removing places from their desirable (acceptable) list? 

A destination’s perceptions and its attractiveness to certain types of visitors are shaped by many factors, including political reputation, policy priorities, cultural values and destination image, major political/historical events, welcoming of minority/LGBTQ+ visitors, celebrations and events, personal safety, and enforcement.

Regardless of the election outcome, do the visitors making destination choices feel the destination itself is still – or not as much – aligned with their own values and interests? 

Implications, Actions, and Further Thoughts

To what extent could this (or any) election change destination perceptions? With new local legislators, how much could the locality’s positions on or enactment of policies, cultural values, etc. actually change? How much could that affect visitation?

I find this a fascinating topic, and TAG wants to explore it in more detail soon.

It raises a fundamental question:

Is a destination's identity defined by its politics, its people, or the experiences it offers?

Or, as research has shown, identity is likely a combination or interplay of these factors that sway a visitor to actually visit. 

This isn't to revise destination messaging with each change in political leadership, but rather to identify and therefore understand the extent to which traveler attitudes are changing, and how those changes affect destination consideration. Here are four considerations – data and marketing-based- to help understand potential changes:

1. Assess destination perceptions. Determine through research if and how prospective visitor impressions have changed following this election, particularly among important geographic and demographic markets.

2. Distinguish political identity from visitor experience. Understand which destination characteristics reflect political perceptions and which reflect travelers' actual experiences.

3. Monitor both attraction and avoidance. Are previously reluctant travelers reconsidering a destination? Are previously favorable audiences becoming less interested?

4. Reinforce authentic destination strengths. Communicate the experiences, culture, people, and qualities that make the destination distinctive and go above/beyond specific political constituencies.

In the meantime, as we noted in our prior article, authenticity is a key driver of visitor decisions. While traveler values and political orientation are intertwined with destination positioning and marketing messaging, a destination should not compromise its identity to appeal to every visitor segment.

Perhaps a destination’s true identity transcends surface issues that can change with each election cycle. How this plays out will become more evident going forward. Stay tuned!

Knowing the basis of destination identity and its relationship to the range of visit motivations (including, but not exclusively, visitor political values) is key. TAG can help you work through this with insightful research and actionable market strategy to sustain a competitive edge.