Here's how Brexit and Trump have already affected the travel industry, according to the president of Hotels.com

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February 6, 2017 8:50 PM

Savvy travelers are taking advantage of global political events to get a good deal, and leaders in the hospitality world are already noticing an impact.

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"Brexit is a notable geopolitical event that has driven big changes," Johan Svanstrom, president of Hotels.com, recently told Business Insider in an email interview. "The British pound weakening has caused Americans and many other nationalities, looking to take advantage and having a good time in London and other UK cities, to search and book at a higher clip."

According to Svanstrom, US searches of UK-based properties on Hotels.com have increased 44% since the summer of 2016.

And as the dollar continues to strengthen, American travelers will be able to enjoy a favorable exchange rate when visiting other countries.

However, as Svanstrom points out, a strengthening dollar also means that travel to the US becomes more expensive for people coming from other countries.

"On top of those woes for the US tourism industry the Trump travel ban last week seems to have had a general dampening interest already, but it's too early to tell if it will materialize into real bookings or not," Svanstrom said.

He added Hotels.com's take on Trump's immigration policies: "We believe that travel restrictions should be as few as possible, not just for our business but also because in the long run, travel helps people to understand and appreciate the world more. "

Hotels.com data shows that some of the top-trending destinations globally year over year include Mexico (Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum); Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Orange County, California; and Tokyo, Japan. Each of those destinations has seen a search volume increase of between 25 and 45%.

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