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Tourism industry officials from around the country are getting a direct message this week from U.S. Travel Association President Roger Dow.
The American economy is losing lots of money because, in the post-9/11 world, the U.S. made it too difficult for many foreign visitors to get into this country — particularly from booming countries such as Brazil, China and India.
Although security precautions are necessary, Dow insists a more travel-friendly system could be devised to spare travelers known to be nonthreatening the inconvenience of a full screening every time they go through an airport.
Together, a more flexible visa-waiver program and what Dow calls a "Trusted Traveler Program" would boost this country's declining share of the lucrative international travel market (down to 12 percent last year from 18 percent in 1999) and would induce more Americans to travel as well. That would add $80 billion in business a year to an industry valued at $760 billion.
"That's one of the greatest ways to create jobs, too," Dow told The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board Monday, during a break from the association's Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations. This 28th annual meeting of the association, a nonprofit group representing all components of the travel industry, continues Tuesday at Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City.
One in every nine Americans is employed in the travel industry, he said, a number that could grow considerably if his recommended changes are implemented. Making these new jobs even more desirable, Dow said, is that they would be spread throughout the country and provide opportunities for the less educated and others who need help most in these tough times.
A "Trusted Traveler Program" would be the kind of profiling Dow said he can accept — recognizing by past behavior that certain individuals clearly are not a threat to carry out a terrorist act. For security's sake, let those people voluntarily fill out more detailed forms about their backgrounds, and if they pass scrutiny, give them their own line at airports so they can move through more quickly, he said.
"I'd give [the government] my high school grades if they want," Dow added, contending that association surveys have shown that millions of potential trips have been canceled because people want to avoid the hassle of airport security.
To attract international visitors, Dow said more foreign countries should be included in a group, now numbering about 36, in which visas are not required to enter the U.S.
Extending visa-waiver status to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Poland and Taiwan would help significantly. Dow noted it currently takes Brazilians 143 days to get a visa, a delay that undoubtedly causes many Brazilians to forsake a trip to the States.
"That wait time is crippling us," Dow said, adding that Brazilians spend an average of $6,000 per person per trip to the United States.
Making it easier for people in China and India to get into the U.S. also would give this country a much better shot at attracting visitors from among the 400 million middle-class residents of those two nations.
Utah's ski resort industry feels the pinch of those restrictions and lag time, said Leigh von der Esch, Utah Office of Tourism managing director. "Park City is doing a lot of marketing in Brazil," she added, noting that resorts like to hire young workers from that country because they are available each winter when it is their summer back home.
Von der Esch said China could be an increasingly important source of tourists for southern Utah because that country's vacation season is in January and February.
"That's a perfect time for our infrastructure to receive them," she said.
mikeg@sltrib.comTwitter: @sltribmikeg —
Utah tourism
Tourist arrivals (2010) • 20.3 million
Traveler spending (2009) • $6.2 billion
Tourism-related jobs ('09) • 110,508
International visitors ('09) • 690,000, 3.55 percent of total
Top foreign markets • Canada, Mexico, Germany, United Kingdom, France
Source: Utah Office of Tourism