Travel to the US rose in April, but industry remains wary

International travel to the US in the month of April rose 4% year over year, an industry group reported on Tuesday, however the group cautioned that a strong dollar and uncertainty about the Trump Administration's policies could discourage foreign visitors in the months ahead. Data released on Tuesday by the US Travel Association (USTA), in partnership with Oxford Economics, showed stronger-than-expected April demand despite the initial messy rollout of President Donald Trump's order in January barring travel to the US from several Muslim majority countries. That order has been stayed by a number of federal courts, and is now awaiting a review by the US Supreme Court. April is the first month when data on international travel would reliably reflect the impact of the controversy over Trump's order, the US Travel Association said. "There have been many claims that the administration's actions on travel have tarnished America's brand abroad, but we're seeing hard economic evidence of the US travel sector's remarkable resilience," USTA CEO Roger Dow said. However, the full report cautioned that international travel to the United States in April grew at "a slower pace than the six-month moving average" and may have been helped by holiday travel.<br/>