Conference focuses on attracting international tourists to U.S.

Expect nationwide efforts to attract international travelers to carry on despite increased travel restrictions.

From 2001 to 2010, the U.S. lost about 80 million tourists because of increased travel restrictions after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. But officials from a key travel summit signaled Thursday they won't let that happen again.

Travel leaders from across the United States gathered at the Washington Post Live Travel & Tourism Forum in Washington, D.C., to discuss all things international travel, including airport security, visa waivers and federally mandated national goals.

"In a dull economy, the travel and tourism industry is a bright spot," said Mary Jordan, editor of Washington Post Live and forum host.

Travel generates $1.9 trillion in output and helps maintain 14.4 million jobs in the United States per year, the U.S. Travel Association reports.

A panel discussion that included U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif., and Kenneth Hyatt, deputy undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Commerce, focused on increased airport security and its effect on travel.

"I don't want to trash (the Transportation Safety Administration), but they have a lot of sensitivity training to do," Farr said.

Hyatt countered by saying the agency has listened "very hard" to the public, and that the Department of Homeland Security is "showing a desire to improve customer feedback."

Geoff Freeman, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the U.S. Travel Association, also was on the panel. He said many of the security policies enacted directly after Sept. 11, 2001, weren't well understood overseas, which often translated to would-be tourists as they weren't welcome in America.

"Travel doesn't just happen," Freeman said. "It takes an environment to create travel."

In January, President Barack Obama issued an executive order that created an interagency task force co-chaired by the secretaries of Commerce and the Interior departments. They were charged with developing a national travel and tourism strategy to increase domestic and international visitation. A specific goal is attracting 100 million annual international visitors to the United States by 2021, which would generate
$250 billion in spending. This represents a 60 percent increase above the 62 million international visitors who came to the United States in 2011.

"This administration gets it," said Christopher Thompson, CEO of Brand USA, the public-private marketing arm created by the Travel Promotion Act in 2010.

The never-ending saga of visa wait times and the subsequent customs wait times was also discussed at the summit. The addition of countries added to the Visa Waiver Program is making it easier to get into the U.S., and additional consulate and embassy staffing is reducing wait times for visa interviews around the globe.

In Brazil, for example, it took 120 days to obtain a visa appointment a few years ago. Through the hiring of additional personnel and increased infrastructure, that wait time has been reduced to two days, said Edward Ramotowski, deputy assistant secretary for visa services for the U.S. Department of State.

And the visitation numbers reflect the expedited process. In 2011, 1.5 million Brazilians visited the United States, up significantly from the 500,000 Brazilians who visited the country in the 2005. In 2012, 1.8 million Brazilians are projected to visit. Primarily, Brazilians travel to the United States for leisure and spend about $1,000 per stay on a weeklong vacation.

However, with visitation increases, comes a different set of problems.

Freeman said there are now more issues at customs checkpoints, with the lines getting longer as visa restrictions ease and more people gain access to U.S. travel.

Contact reporter Laura Carroll at
lcarroll@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588.