Irish travel company chief fears for American tourism industry if Trump is re-elected

"Hopefully we have a new leader there..."

Mary McKenna is the Founder and CEO of Irish travel company, Tour America. She has witnessed her industry undergo seismic change since she closed the doors on her physical office on 18 March and moved all their business online. She told Sonya Lennon, host of The Architects of Business, made in partnership with EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™, about how she wrote off 2020 very early on but is now focussed on breaking even in 2021, before seeing a travel boom in 2022. But one of her biggest fears for the business is who will be sitting in the White House next year.

"Sonya Lennon: I suppose we cannot not address the fact that the name of the company is Tour America. And America is in a very fragile state at the moment. Are you concerned about the political state and social state of the States at the moment?" Mary McKenna: I am, I'm very concerned... I think a lot of people think about him [Trump] as the leader and it makes them think about going to that country. I hate saying it because this is my business but that's a fact of the matter."

Listen to the full interview with the 2018 finalist in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ programme below. The conversation about US tourism and Donald Trump happens from 26.40 onwards. Watch the interview here. Subscribe to The Architects of Business for free on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or watch every episode on YouTube.