We just returned from a trip to Spain. We overheard 3-4 conversations of other tourists who said they would not visit the US. My wife had a conversation with 3 middle-aged women who had planned a trip to Miami until stories of visitors being hassled, held for days before being deported and so on. Instead they went to the south of Spain. If you check the numbers, tourism to the US is way down. Will really hurt South Florida, NYC and California. Palm Springs, CA, in particular, already is feeling the pain as thousands of Canadians who go there to warm up in the winter cancelled their trips. Hassling musicians and artists is just a subset of our new attitude towards our friends who want to visit.
The Musician Tariff
Listening to Heather Bambrick on Jazz.fm this morning I learned that the time to process a visa application for performers has doubled and that to get an expedited visa now costs $2,800, limiting the ability of musicians to schedule tours in the US.
I have such a hard time even finding a jazz club, learning that now we can’t even get musicians just makes me even sadder.