LOS ANGELES, 15 May 2004 — More than 5,000 delegates recently attended the 36th annual International Pow Wow in Los Angeles, California. Attendance at the premier US marketplace for international inbound travel included 1,500 international delegates from 71 countries.
The Travel Industry of America’s International Pow Wow is the travel industry’s premier international marketplace and largest generator of Visit USA travel. Not a typical trade show, Pow Wow gives three days of intensive pre-scheduled, computer-generated business appointments, and more than 1,000 US travel organizations from every region of America. Also, 1,500 international delegates and domestic buyers from more than 65 countries conducted business negotiations that resulted in close to $3 billion in contracts in future travel to the US.
Protecting our county is paramount, but it cannot come at the expense of yanking the ‘welcome mat’ for international visitors,” Rick Webster, director of governmental affairs for TIA, told Arab News.
Bosco Rodrigues, Tour Manager for Portfolio Tours in Jeddah, who returned to Pow Wow this year after a one-year hiatus, agreed with Webster.
Rodrigues arrived to Los Angeles from Jeddah “without a problem,” but said colleagues from Lebanon, Syria and Jordan were detained three hours for questioning — after they had been fingerprinted and photographed. He said they didn’t mind the questions, but said the questions took “only about a minute,” after a three hour wait following a very long trip to California.
“That long wait, after a very long trip, is not very good for our travelers,” said Rodrigues, adding officials told him Los Angeles is a very busy airport and they were understaffed, “which is why the waiting period was so long.”
“I agree with the process of fingerprinting and photos, for security reasons — provided it will facilitate our travelers to obtain visas and travel more easily in the future,” said Rodrigues. “It’s difficult for our clientele,” he said, “who previously never had any problem with visas, to now have to go through interrogations and waiting.”
Speaking to Arab News after three days of meetings at Pow Wow, Rodrigues said the US travel industry “was very appreciative of our market before 9/11, and they’ve missed the Middle East market in the last three years.”
The US travel industry “definitely realizes the difference between terrorists and tourists,” said Rodrigues.
US suppliers told him they “were very appreciative that we are still coming to Pow Wow despite the restrictions we are currently facing,” he said. “We’re here to keep a tab on the market until things resume to normal.”
“This is a big chunk of our market,” Rodrigues reflected, “and we’re waiting for things to get better.”
Tourism is also a big chunk of US markets. California’s governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who spoke during a TIA luncheon at the convention center, plugged his state calling it “a vacationer’s gold mine.”
California is the number one travel destination in the US, said Schwarzenegger, and brings in $75 billion in revenue annually. Tourism is also California’s third largest employer, with one million employees.
“Tourism is the bridge between countries and culture, and travel opens minds,” he said.
Meanwhile, TIA has been working with the US Congress and the administration to come up with what it calls “a fine balancing act” to enable more travelers to visit the US.
While the US-VISIT program, which began in January at airports and seaports throughout the US, focuses on screening visitors entering the country with a visa, this September the US will broaden the program to include travelers from Visa Waiver Program countries to be enrolled in the US-VISIT program.
The entry and exit of international travelers is recorded using digital scans of both index fingers and a digital photo. The exit process is currently being tested at only two locations, but will be expanded soon, said TIA’s Webster.
Webster expressed unease about the current program: “We have some concerns about the potential for delays at airports and seaports, resulting from breakdowns in technology or lack of adequate inspection personnel, which could lead to longer lines and delays and possibly deter visitors.”
This Visa Waiver Program is essential for continued and future growth of international travel to the US, said Webster.
Visitors required to have visas have had to deal with new procedures that require them to apply for their visa in person at a US consulate or embassy and participate in a personal interview, Webster said “this is a burden not only on the visitor, but also on the US government, since embassies and consulates have not been provided much in the way of new staff or resources to meet this demand.”
At one press briefing, a Latin American correspondent complained that US embassies are “collecting money for visas that are not given. Every day more and more visas are refused, and the money is not refunded. Surely this should be challenged in US courts,” he said.
“We understand it’s a poor selling point in the US to put up $100 and then not be refunded when the visa is refused, said Graham Atkinson, Senior VP of United Airlines, during the briefing. He said many visas are refused simply because they are not filled out properly.
“Many people feel insulted around the world that they have to pay a $100 non-refundable fee. The US says it’s not a fee for visa, but a processing fee,” said Atkinson.
TIA’s Webster explained that visa refusal in some countries is “significant,” with as many as one-third refused in Brazil and one-fourth in Mexico.
Markets have been especially affected by this new personal interview policy with prospective visitors sometimes traveling great distances and taking time off of work to participate in the interview — not to mention paying a $100 non-refundable fee on the chance of getting a visa. There is also a possibility this fee could increase, he said, which would “serve as a disincentive” to inbound travelers.
“A new set of rules are scheduled to take affect this coming October which could impact inbound travel from Visa Waiver countries by requiring visitors to have biometric passports (using digital photos transferred from computer to chip),” said Webster.
“We support this technology, but most counties are not prepared to meet the October deadline. We are working with the White House and Congress to extend the deadline for two years, and we are increasingly confident this will be done,” said Webster.
Part of TIA’s challenge in fostering inbound travel is battling new rules “in the majority of cases, it’s battling the perception that the welcome mat has been pulled,” said Webster.
To offset this perception, he pointed out that, thanks to the weakness of the dollar against the euro, the yen and other international currencies, the US is “a bargain.”
“We are very affordable, attractive and offer a variety of history, natural beauty and attractions,” he said. “This is our strong suit.”
“People will always travel,” said Webster. “The question is whether they will come to see America or visit somewhere else.”