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Travel associations are warning that new regulations for visitors planning a trip to the US would be a “barrier to travel”.
A proposal from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), published in December in the federal register, would make it mandatory for would-be travellers to make their social-media history from the past five years public when applying for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).
The permit is required for short stays by citizens of 41 visa-waiver countries. Providing social media information is currently optional.
What does the new proposal include?
The draft rule outlines a significantly expanded list of information CBP wants to gather.
Travellers would also need to provide every email address and phone number they have used in the past five years, plus the names and birth dates of close family members.
In an unusual twist, CBP may also require a mandatory selfie. It is also seeking authority to collect additional biometrics, including DNA and iris scans.
The proposals were open for public comment for 60 days. This has now closed, but an implementation date has not been set.
‘A barrier to travel’
Travel associations have denounced the proposals. ECTAA, the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations, says it has written to the CBP to raise “serious concerns” that the new measures could become a “barrier to travel”.
The group said that while it fully recognises the security objectives, from a European traveller perspective the “cumulative effect” of the proposals risks making travel to the US “more complex, intrusive, and less accessible”, potentially “discouraging travel altogether”.
The association has called on the US to “avoid unnecessary requests” for social media data and keep the ESTA process “simple, proportionate and traveller-friendly”.
According to research published by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the changes to the ESTA programme could directly reduce international travel demand and “materially weaken” the US tourism economy – reducing visitor spend by $15.7 billion (€13. 2 billion) and impacting 157,000 American jobs.
“Even modest shifts in visitor behaviour, put off by the planned changes, will have real economic consequences for US Travel & Tourism, particularly in a highly competitive global market,” said Gloria Guevara, president and CEO of WTTC.
The proposed changes come amid a turbulent time for travellers visiting the US. Several have reported being denied entry after officers reviewed their online activity and deemed it too critical of Donald Trump or JD Vance. Those include a trio of German tourists and a scientist turned away after his phone was inspected at the border this spring.
They also come as the United States ramps up preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Millions of international fans are expected to travel for matches across the country.
Stricter digital vetting for workers and students
The new ESTA rules come on the heels of the United States tightening requirements for non-immigrant H-1B visas, which allow foreign workers in speciality occupations to take up temporary employment in fields such as tech, medicine, engineering and law.
From 15 December 2025, all H-1B applicants and their dependents have to undergo a review of their online presence, a process already applied to students and exchange visitors.
Applicants have been instructed to make their social media accounts public so that officers can examine their activity.
In an announcement outlining the new rules, the State Department reiterated that “a US visa is a privilege, not a right.”
The administration has also expanded its controversial travel ban and added new restrictions. Citizens of 19 countries (plus those with Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents) are fully banned, including Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran and Haiti, while 20 more are partially restricted.
Social media scrutiny adds to other travel barriers
As the Trump administration revises its travel policies, international visitors have also found themselves facing rising costs.
US national parks recently introduced ‘America-first’ pricing, imposing higher entry fees on foreign tourists – a decision criticised by some tourism groups as unwelcoming at a time when visitor numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels.
“It’s going to hurt local businesses that cater to foreign travellers,” Mark Howser, owner of a motel near Glacier National Park in Montana, told AP in November.
The new park fees and revised visa rules will move through their own review processes in the coming weeks. In the meantime, CBP says it will consider public feedback to its ESTA proposal before issuing a final rule.
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