Washington, D.C.
19 June 2007
Watch Tourism report
America's tourism industry is expressing alarm over a sharp decrease in the number of international visitors to the United States. The downturn has prompted a consortium of American businesses to call on ConGREss to ease restrictions for visitors from nations outside North America. VOA's Robert Raffaele has the story.
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| A U.S. Customs officer inspects visa documentation |
The Travel Industry Association reports the U.S. saw a loss of $43 billion in visitor spending in 2005 alone. A coalition of U.S. businesses is calling on the nation to spruce up its welcome mat.
The Discover America Partnership wants ConGREss to approve a series of proposals, aimed at boosting incoming tourism. One of them is charging a $10 fee for travelers from so-called "Visa Waiver" nations. The U.S. does not require visitors from those 27 nations to obtain a visa for a stay of 90 days or less. The group says the proposed fee would result in $200 million annually, to pay for increased border security and tourism promotion.
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| Former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge |
A survey commissioned by the group asked some 2,000 international tourists about their perceptions of the U.S. visa and entry policies. By more than a two-to-one margin, respondents said the U.S. had the world's "worst" entry system. Sixty-six percent said they feared they would be detained for hours, because of simple mistakes.
Ridge says speeding up the visa application process for non-waiver tourists would be a positive step. "If we could tell the world that there's a 30-day window, that we will process you, and interview and process you within 30 days, that creates an entirely differently kind of environment . We're not doing fewer interviews, we're just doing them quicker."
Ridge called the Visa Waiver fee a fair proposal. He pointed out that many countries charge international tourists entry or exit fees.
