Route 66, cutting through the heart of the United States from Illinois to California, offers drivers one of the world’s most magnificent road trips.

This historic highway came to symbolise freedom, opportunity and optimism in pursuit of the American Dream almost a century ago as desperate migrants headed west during the Great Depression, then emerged as an icon of the country’s influential culture in books, films and songs. The road embodies a spirit of carefree adventure in a nation that worshipped cars and liberty – and is loved by tourists as they sweep through bustling cities, glorious scenery and kitschy roadside stops.

Steve Dalley, a reader of this newspaper from the Isle of Wight, had been looking forward to spending three weeks with a friend driving along Route 66. Their trip – postponed by the pandemic – was slated for September. Now he has cancelled in protest against a president who is brazenly shredding those values of democracy and freedom epitomised by that famous road.

“I will not set foot in America while the numpty [Donald] Trump and his acolytes are still in control,” he wrote in a letter published earlier this month. “We can all do our bit to hurt the US even if it unfortunately doesn’t just hit the ‘Make America Great Again’ crowd.”

This might seem a self-harming reaction to Trump’s regime. The loss of two British holidaymakers makes minimal impact, after all, to a tourist industry that hosted at least seventy million visitors last year. Yet Steve seems far from alone in coming to this decision: official figures show a sharp drop last month in foreign visitors to the US, which plunged almost 12 per cent over the previous year.

Travel from several key countries –........

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