ToplineMore Americans are balking at international travel due to concerns about geopolitical unrest and anti-American sentiment abroad, according to a new survey of travel advisors.Geopolitical conflicts around the world is keeping more Americans at home, according to a new survey of travel advisors.gettyKey FactsFor the first time, geopolitical anxiety now tops the economy as the primary barrier to international travel, according to a Travel Weekly survey of U.S. travel advisors fielded last month and released Friday.More than 7 in 10 travel advisors (72%) said clients are hesitant to book international trips due to global conflicts, nearly doubling from 38% in December.Concern over geopolitics outstripped concerns over travel inflation (55%) and the economy (42%), the top two deterrents in December.More than 4 in 10 advisors (42%) said clients were worried about encountering anti-American sentiment abroad, up from 33% in December.On March 22, the State Department issued a worldwide caution warning Americans to “exercise increased caution” when traveling outside the U.S., and especially in the Middle East. Geopolitical Unrest Is A Deterrent To Global TravelIt’s not just Americans who are getting nervous. Six out of 10 travelers are less likely to fly in the next six months due to the war in the Middle East, according to a survey fielded last month to more than 1,000 travelers from the U.S. and five European countries (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) by global insights firm OvationMR.Demand Still High Among Luxury Travelers In January, nine out of 10 luxury travel advisors in the Virtuoso network cited geopolitical concerns as the top factor influencing travel in 2026, Misty Belles, managing director of global public relations the company, told Forbes. “But it hasn’t kept our clients from traveling,” she said. “It changes maybe where they travel or how they travel, but we're not seeing cancellations and we're not seeing a slow-up in bookings—it’s just that people are more aware.” Nancy McLaughlin, a Colorado-based independent travel advisor with Fora, a Virtuoso-affiliated travel agency, noted the same pattern with her most affluent clients. “Demand from those booking hotels and resorts for $800 to $1,200 a night, that is not stopping,” she told Forbes, adding that some of her other clients have pulled back from international trips. “It depends on the person and their level of experience with travel,” she said. Clients who booked a Danube river cruise recently canceled an extension in Istanbul. “They don’t want to go as far east” as Turkey, she said. One client postponed a trip to Dubai, while another is “wait and see” for a river cruise in Egypt. “But I still have honeymooners going to Italy and Greece in May and I'm working with clients right now who are planning a trip to Japan,” she said.Transatlantic Demand Was Already Cooling Before War StartedDemand for transatlantic flights for the summer was dipping before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28—but has worsened since, according to data from the aviation analytics firm Cirium. Bookings from Europe to the U.S. for travel in July 2026 have fallen 15.34% compared to last year, while bookings from the U.S. to Europe for the same month are down 11.19%, based on data captured October through mid-March. Cirium bookings data from early February showed Europe-U.S. bookings were down 14.22% and U.S.-Europe bookings down 7.27%. “There has been a general trend in late 2025 and early 2026 of a pullback in bookings from the U.S. to Europe, but especially from Europe to the U.S.,” Mike Arnot, spokesperson for Cirium, told Forbes. “It is not a new trend” but the Middle East conflict has “exacerbated lower transatlantic demand, coupled with economic uncertainty, geopolitical challenges, and the relative strength of the U.S. dollar compared to the euro,” he said. Further ReadingFewer Europeans Are Heading To The U.S. This Summer—Here’s What That Could Mean For The World Cup (Forbes)