US travel industry concerned about continuing decline of international business

Thousands of delegates from around the world gathered in New York City for Travel Industry Association’s  (TIA) 37th Annual International Pow Wow, which ran from last Tuesday and through Saturday.  International Pow Wow is the travel industry’s premier international marketplace and is the largest generator of Visit USA travel. It brings together many of the top international tour operators with U.S. suppliers in a business-to-business venue, through 35,000 pre-arranged business appointments.

International tourism to the U.S. has declined steadily 2% per year for a cumulative short fall of 38% since 2000.  Much concern was expressed at the conference about the deterrence of travel to U.S. due to an image problem abroad and new government visa and passport requirements for foreign visitors.  Both have dampened what should have been a bonanza for foreign visitors arrivals taking advantage of the low value of the U.S. dollar against major foreign currencies.

Keynote speakers at Pow Wow addressed theses issues.  They included Henry Silverman, chairman and CEO, Cendant Corporation and former Secretary of State, General Colin L. Powell.  Both addressed the role of the travel industry in improving international relations and the importance of building international alliances to promote democracy and peace. “The things that pull us together are stronger than the things that pull us apart,” Powell told attendees. “…The essence of our relationship with the rest of the world is trust.”  Silverman encouraged the audience to make their views known to their government representatives.

“It’s an economic imperative to address these problems,” said Roger Dow, chief executive of the Travel Industry Association of America, tourism’s main trade body, which organizes this annual convention.

Dow addressed the rising anti-Americanism, which has created a feeling that the US is inhospitable and difficult to visit. “There’s a perception of ‘Fortress America’ that is much worse than it really is,” he said. Dow added that strong competition from other destinations such as Australia, South Africa, Spain and Asia had diverted tourism to the US.  TIA believes the October 26 deadline requiring some foreign passports to have biometric facial-recognition technology is unrealistic and must be extended.

Dow stressed that tourism contributed to a positive perception of the US, which spread across to business. “If we don’t address these issues in tourism, the long-term impact for American brands Coca-Cola, General Motors, McDonald’s could be very damaging,” he said.