Decreasing numbers of overseas visitors to USA

[Hostels]

Despite the weak dollar, overseas visits are decreasing:

...despite the dollar hitting record lows against world currencies, foreigners are not flocking to our shores to snap up deals in between trips to Disneyland and Sea World.

The horror stories about visiting the United States - hourlong waits in customs, surprise bag searches, tough visa requirements - are taking their toll, travel experts say.

Overseas arrivals are down 17percent nationwide since 2001, said Geoff Freeman, a spokesman at the Travel Industry Association.

And those numbers aren't exactly bouncing back.

From 2005 to 2006, overseas arrivals decreased nationally by 0.5 percent.

Locally, overseas arrivals decreased 3percent in that period, Freeman said.

Longer visa delays

Obtaining a visa to enter the United States has become a lot harder for citizens of many countries since the Sept.11 terrorist attacks. In-person interviews were added as a visa requirement for travelers from Brazil, India and Mexico. Previously, immigration officials had leverage to
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waive the interview if a criminal check was clean.

Waits for an interview can exceed 100 days in Brazil and 70 days in Mexico, and they range from 15 to 150 days in India, Freeman said.

"We support the interview requirement because it's good for security," Freeman said. But "if you're going to require an interview, perhaps you should staff accordingly."

Full story here.

[santa klaus]

I don´t think the visa procedures have such a huge impact. I´t also pretty difficult to get visa for European countries (say, for people from Mexico or India). In addition to that, there is still no such thing as a "visa for Europe" - it´s all very confusing with Schengen countries and stuff like this.

I´d say the most important reason is America´s image problem. When you travel overseas, you want to visit a country you like. I have mentioned that in another thread. Many Europeans still think America is an unsafe place, Americans are dumb and ignorant and governed by a vile gang of Cheney cronies.

In addition to that, America does absolitely nothing to promote tourism. Even Countries like Uzbekistan run ads on CNN, showing off their silk road wonders. I haven´t seen anything like that about the USA.

You should target the Europeans, Japanese, Koreans. (Brazil and India won´t make a difference - too few people there can afford to travel.) You should not promote your country with Disney Land. We have amusement parks here, too. We visit them on Sunday daytrips with the kids, but wouldn´t travel around the globe to go to a Disney park. What we don´t have are stunning cities like New York and above all great scenery. E.g. Patagonia really made my jaw drop. You can drive for hours without seing other cars. You can hike in real wilderness. You should bring across that Americans are (besides dumb, fat and ignorant) the friendliest and most uncomplicated bunch on earth. Because they are.

America could be a very popular destination. There´s everything from great beaches to snow-capped mountain ranges. Flights to America are cheap, car rental is cheap, gas is cheap, food is cheap. There is a lot of potential.

[Hostels]

America could be a very popular destination. There´s everything from great beaches to snow-capped mountain ranges. Flights to America are cheap, car rental is cheap, gas is cheap, food is cheap. There is a lot of potential.

I tried to find a national tourism agency for the USA but could only find state tourism agencies. Maybe there is no national agency promoting tourism in the USA?

[santa klaus]

LOL. This must be the only country of the world without a national tourism agency!

[Hostels]

I found some info from this site:

"The United States of America have no central tourism office; each state is responsible for its own tourist information."

[Hostels]

I found this article which mentions a new "official tourism Web site of the United States":

The Travel Industry Association (TIA) announced Travelocity as the official online travel provider for DiscoverAmerica.com, the Official Travel and Tourism Website of the United States.
[...]
The website encourages consumers to learn more about the U.S., research their travel planning needs and book travel. These efforts are influential in helping to increase international inbound travel to the U.S., a key objective of the website.

Does "official" mean it's a government sponsored project?

Here it is: discoveramerica.com

TIA also seems to run SeeAmerica.org.

[Hostels]

Just updating this forum thread with a link to a new related one so that new visitors can find it:

• 2008 USA Travel Promotion Act