It will take $300 million and a major shift in global perceptions to fix the nation’s hemorrhaging tourism industry, said top industry officials.
Leaders from high-profile hospitality companies convened in Washington Wednesday to present a plan to fix the country’s travel “crisis.” The three-point plan to lure overseas travelers to the U.S. includes strategies such as hiring an additional 200 consulate officials to expedite the visa application process and creating a comprehensive marketing plan targeting key countries.
The U.S. has been rapidly losing its market share of international travel since the terror attacks of Sept. 11. Overseas travel is down 17 percent since 2001 and business travel — a major component of the Washington region’s travel market — is down 10 percent between 2004 and 2005 alone. That decrease has resulted in the loss of $93 billion in revenue and 200,000 jobs nationwide.
The Washington region took a particularly hard hit following Sept. 11. Between 2001 and 2003, overseas travel to Washington decreased by 28 percent.
The plan is a product of the year-old Discover America Partnership, which brought together the country’s hospitality companies and organizations including Marriott, Disney, the National Restaurant Association and the Travel Business Roundtable, to lobby lawmakers.
The Partnership estimates the plan, which also includes hiring additional federal employees to speed up the customs process in U.S. airports, will cost $300 million in federal and private funds.
Hospitality leaders gave several options for financing their plan, including charging an exit tax to all air travelers or a convenience fee for those participating in the Visa Waiver Program.
“[Tourism] is the number one, two and three of every economy in this country,” said Rep. John Porter, D-Nev., who sits on the House of Representatives’ Tourism Caucus and has been vocal in his support of the Discover America Partnership. “It’s an economic driving force … and we need to focus on making it easier to travel here.”
