United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
US puts out welcome mat for foreign tourists
Travel officials praised the US government’s latest plan to make it easier for foreign tourists to visit the US and be treated more graciously.
Apparently to underscore the US government’s new commitment to tourism, both Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the new plans.
“Our work on Capitol Hill has paid off,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the Travel Industry Association of America. He added:
“Our many visits with elected officials and senior leadership of the administration of the State Department and Homeland Security have allowed them to take our issues, consider and discuss them, and announce initiatives that will make a huge difference in our business.”
Added National Business Travel Association President and CEO Suzanne Fletcher:
“Secretaries Chertoff and Rice are to be congratulated for looking at the big picture of the impact of the multitude of travel and border security programs on travel and the conduct of international commerce.”
US government officials for months have been talking about beefing up border security to prevent terrorism. At the same time, senior US officials said they wanted to keep the “welcome mat out for…overseas visitors.
New initiatives to make it easier for foreigners to visit the US include:
- Develop model programs at Washington Dulles International and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental airports to create a more welcoming environment for foreign travelers. Videos will be used as well as “friendly greeters.”
- The government will test digital videoconferencing to see whether visitors applying for visas can be interviewed by video conferencing instead of in person.
- The government will attempt to encourage foreigners to study in the US by extending the length of visas. Students will also be able to get longer visas.
- Inexpensive security cards for foreigners and US citizens traveling across US borders with Canada and the Caribbean will be developed.
Travel groups were particularly upset by Homeland Security saying in the future people would need passports rather than driver’s license when crossing Canadian and Mexican borders.
The new cards, Mr Chertoff said, will be “like the kind of driver’s license or other simple card identification that almost all of us carry.”
Report by David Wilkening
David
Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026
Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange
North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
BA suspending all Heathrow to Abu Dhabi flights
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel
Foreign Office issues travel advisory for winter sun destinations