Shortly after making his comments, the president left for an eight-day trip to Asia, where the economy will be one of the main topics of his meetings with other countries' leaders.

VOA: standard.2009.11.12

"She's not really trying to send any signal at all. This is a trip where we're trying to focus on India and really highlight the new strategic partnership, and again all the people-to-people ties.

VOA: standard.2009.07.15

Either way,it is going to be an expensive trip." The flight cancellations are expected to have additional repercussions for smaller Southeast Asia countries, where travel and tourism is a major share of the economy.

VOA: standard.2010.04.19