The U.S. Senate will soon vote on the Travel Promotion Act of
2009, which would create a government-run U.S. tourism advertising
campaign funded by taxes on international visitors. Creating a tax
on international visitors is not the right way to stimulate the
tourism industry. The economic downturn has not been limited to the
United States; pocketbooks worldwide are also feeling the crunch.
Making travel to the U.S. more expensive will likely encourage
would-be tourists to stay at home or spend their money on a trip to
another country.
To truly promote the tourism industry, Congress should leave
travel promotion to the private sector and focus instead on making
travel easier, safer, and more streamlined, thereby expanding the
opportunities for visitors to travel to the United States.
The Travel Promotion Act of 2009
The tourism industry is the second-largest service export
industry, and it has been badly bruised by the current economic
downturn. It is estimated that in 2009 there will be an 8 percent
decrease in foreign visitors to the U.S.
In response, Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and John Ensign (R-NV)
introduced the Travel Promotion Act of 2009. It would impose a $10
fee on visitors coming from visa waiver countries. The money would
be used to create marketing campaigns to help bring visitors to the
United States. While marketing campaigns are certainly helpful in
promoting the United States, a new federally funded body managing
and coordinating programs--which would add another layer of
bureaucracy--would likely cause delays, stifle innovation and
creativity, and waste government dollars.
America's Tourism Industry
U.S. tourism does not benefit only the foreign traveler. The
tourism industry produces the following benefits:
- It stimulates the economy. In 2008, foreign travelers
spent $100 billion in the United States. In fact, foreign tourists
often spend three times that of domestic travelers--an
extraordinary investment in the U.S. economy. Although the tourism
industry has suffered in today's rough economic climate, the more
visitors spend in taxes--such as the one proposed under the Travel
Promotion Act--the less they have to spend in the United States on
everything from hotels to cabs and souvenirs.
- It promotes America's image abroad. When foreign
travelers come to America, interact with Americans, and gain an
understanding of what makes America great, they share these
positive experiences with members of their own societies, helping
to improve America's image abroad.
- It keeps Americans safer. Programs like the Visa Waiver
Program (VWP)--which allows foreign visitors from member countries
to come to the United States for up to 90 days without a
visa--bring more tourism dollars into the United States. But the
VWP also makes America safer by ensuring that the U.S. knows more
about foreign visitors before they reach U.S. soil. Furthermore,
the information-sharing agreements that go along with country
membership in the VWP help the U.S. stop acts of terrorism, and
preventing acts of terrorism furthers preserves tourism. After
9/11, tourism plummeted; the safer an individual feels, the more
likely he or she is to visit.
Stimulating the Tourism Industry
America does need to work diligently to support sectors of the
economy such as the tourism industry. But adding another level of
bureaucracy and spending more government dollars is not the right
approach. The federal government should instead do the
following:
- Leave tourism promotion to the private sector. Tourism
promotion and advertising are private-sector functions. With
decades of experiences in the business, private-sector companies
know the best methods for promoting tourism.
- Expand the Visa Waiver Program. The VWP is an excellent
way to sustain the tourism industry, make Americans safer, and
improve the U.S.'s image abroad. The Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) and Congress should work together to ensure that the
membership process continues. Several steps can ensure this
happens. First, Congress should transfer permanent waiver authority
to the DHS and decouple VWP from the biometric air-exit
mandate--which would require DHS to biometrically track the exit of
foreign passengers leaving the United States by air--so that the
current DHS visa waiver authority does not expire if DHS does not
deploy air exit by July 1, 2009. Second, DHS must ensure that the
biennial reviews of VWP member countries are a meaningful exercise
and that VWP member countries, just like new members, enter into
bilateral agreements to implement post-9/11 VWP security
requirements. Third, Congress should ensure that the new Electronic
System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is user-friendly through
multiple-language availability and reliance on quality
databases.
- Target border infrastructure investments at ports of entry
(POEs). Congress and DHS should address infrastructure
deficiencies at POEs. These POEs are dilapidated and inefficient.
Wait times continue to dissuade people from coming to the United
States. Investments in this infrastructure will support tourism by
making travel between the U.S. and other nations more
efficient.
- Improve visa services. Congress should move forward on
visa reform so that employers can legitimately get the workers they
need to grow the economy. These same employees are likely to be
tourists while in the United States, using their time abroad to see
America and taking a positive image back to their home
countries.
Make Travel Easier
While taxes might put more money in the coffers of the federal
government treasury, they will not do much to help the ailing
tourism sector of the U.S. economy. It is time for Congress to do
what it needs to do--make travel easier--and leave the rest to the
private sector.
Jena Baker
McNeill is Policy Analyst for Homeland Security in the Douglas
and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies, a division of
the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International
Studies, at The Heritage Foundation.