US business leaders call for tourism action

Top US travel executives are joining forces to highlight a “crisis” in the country’s image abroad.

The Discover America Partnership involves top executives from Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Inter-Continental Hotels, Marriott, and Anheuser-Busch.

They have issued a national challenge to attract 10 million travellers a year to the US.

The call to Capitol Hill coincided with the US midterm elections today and came as figures released at World Travel Market showed a 4% decline in UK arrivals to the US in the year to August. Last year there were 4.3 million UK arrivals in the US, 8% below the record high of 4.7 million achieved in 2000 – prior to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

At the same time the Travel Industry Association of America revealed at WTM that its marketing campaign is to revert back to the slogan ‘Discover America’ from ‘See America’.

Travel Industry Association of America CEO Roger Dowe described ‘See America’ as too arrogant while Discover America was also better suited to a dotcom environment through a new website.

Dowe said the partnership would deliver a blueprint for action at a state of industry lunch in Washington DC on January 31. It would comprise of 80 questions covering the economics of tourism through to levels of spend by competing nations. 

Dowe blamed the decline in UK visitors to the US this year on a combination of factors including the percived hassle of entering the country, world events, global competition for tourists and the impact of the World Cup.

The partnership admits its target of 10 million more international visitors will be a tough one to achieve.

A statement released at WTM said: “Achieving 10 million new visitors will not happen easily.

“Our nation does little to encourage international travellers to the US. And those who choose to do are often greeted by an increasingly difficult entry process.

“At a time when America needs ‘people-to-people communications like never before, the US share of the global travel and tourism market is declining – down 36% in the past 15 years.

“To improve our global standing and ensure our future vitality, we must address the obstacles to visiting the US and recapture our place among the world’s destinations of choice.”

Partnership chairman Stevan Porter, president of InterContinental Hotels, said: “As a nation we must do a better job of welcoming international visitors. With each new visitor we have an opportunity to share what is best about America – our people, our values and our vitality.”

Report by Phil Davies