shiva2999
April 28th, 2007, 10:27:41 PM
Why you should care about what the rest of the world thinks.
It's costing you money.
Big money.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10436518
America's war on tourists
Saturday April 28, 2007
By Peter Huck
"Welcome to LA, where the world comes together," reads the greeting from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at Los Angeles International Airport.
But standing in one of the interminable queues that snake into the non-resident alien section of LAX recently, waiting to clear United States immigration and customs, it was clear that for many people their first hours on US soil were dominated by anxiety and frustration rather than anticipation of good times past the barrier.
Welcome to America, where officials who work for the Department of Homeland Security, which was set up after the 2001 terrorist attacks, have a major image problem.
In a recent poll of international travellers, commissioned by Discover America Partnership, a coalition of US tourist organisations, 70 per cent of respondents said they feared US officials more than terrorists or criminals. Another 66 per cent worried they would be detained for some minor blunder, such as wrongly filling out an official form or being mistaken for a terrorist, while 55 per cent say officials are "rude."
...and...
Such comments, and the poll results - which rate the US by a 2:1 margin as the world's "most unfriendly" destination for foreign travellers - are found in "A Blueprint to Discover America," unveiled in January by Discover America Partnership to halt a dramatic decline in foreign visitors.
According to the blueprint overseas travel to the US has slumped 17 per cent since 2001, even as world travel to other countries reaches historic growth levels. The decline has cost US$94 billion ($127 billion) in visitor spending, US$16 billion in tax receipts, and some 194,000 American jobs. Many poll respondents said that visiting the US had become a hassle and that they would take their holiday money elsewhere.
...and...
"The more hospitable and welcoming you are the more favourable people feel towards your country," says Roger Dow, president of the Travel Industry Association of America. Yet in contrast to almost every other nation keen to attract tourists, the US spends almost nothing on overseas promotion. The budget this year is a paltry US$3.9 million.
In comparison, notes the blueprint, New Zealand, while only 1/74th the size of the US, spends $43 million.
...more...
It's costing you money.
Big money.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10436518
America's war on tourists
Saturday April 28, 2007
By Peter Huck
"Welcome to LA, where the world comes together," reads the greeting from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at Los Angeles International Airport.
But standing in one of the interminable queues that snake into the non-resident alien section of LAX recently, waiting to clear United States immigration and customs, it was clear that for many people their first hours on US soil were dominated by anxiety and frustration rather than anticipation of good times past the barrier.
Welcome to America, where officials who work for the Department of Homeland Security, which was set up after the 2001 terrorist attacks, have a major image problem.
In a recent poll of international travellers, commissioned by Discover America Partnership, a coalition of US tourist organisations, 70 per cent of respondents said they feared US officials more than terrorists or criminals. Another 66 per cent worried they would be detained for some minor blunder, such as wrongly filling out an official form or being mistaken for a terrorist, while 55 per cent say officials are "rude."
...and...
Such comments, and the poll results - which rate the US by a 2:1 margin as the world's "most unfriendly" destination for foreign travellers - are found in "A Blueprint to Discover America," unveiled in January by Discover America Partnership to halt a dramatic decline in foreign visitors.
According to the blueprint overseas travel to the US has slumped 17 per cent since 2001, even as world travel to other countries reaches historic growth levels. The decline has cost US$94 billion ($127 billion) in visitor spending, US$16 billion in tax receipts, and some 194,000 American jobs. Many poll respondents said that visiting the US had become a hassle and that they would take their holiday money elsewhere.
...and...
"The more hospitable and welcoming you are the more favourable people feel towards your country," says Roger Dow, president of the Travel Industry Association of America. Yet in contrast to almost every other nation keen to attract tourists, the US spends almost nothing on overseas promotion. The budget this year is a paltry US$3.9 million.
In comparison, notes the blueprint, New Zealand, while only 1/74th the size of the US, spends $43 million.
...more...