ORLANDO, 13 May 2006 — Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, this week informed the 5,000 travel professionals meeting in Orlando that the slowness in processing visas for US visitors and the fact that “for many foreign travelers entering the US has become an ordeal” are key reasons why America’s share of international travel has dropped in double digits since 2000, and 35 percent since 1992.
“The US used to be third on the list of top world destinations,” said Rasulo. “Now, we’re sixth. We must work to regain this standing.”
Rasulo, in partnership with the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), the Washington-based trade group that hosted the three-day annual event known as “Pow Wow” in Florida, proposed a four-point program to reverse this trend which he and Roger Dow, TIA’s president, liken to a monumental effort on par with “NASA’s Apollo space program.”
“Travel is the solution to global understanding,” said Dow during a press briefing at the Orlando convention center. “If we build a wall around our country, then the world will pass us by.”
Pow Wow is the American tourism industry’s most important event for selling travel to destinations in the United States internationally.
An event strictly focused on the business side of tourism, Pow Wow, each year, invites 1,200 international buyers from 70 countries to meet with America’s key airlines, hotels, rental car companies, cruise lines, attractions, and destinations.
It is estimated that over $4 billion in travel to the US over the next three years will result from contracts negotiated during the 2006 Pow Wow.
The US travel industry generates $1.3 trillion in annual economic activity. Travel and tourism is one of America’s largest employers. Put more simply, international and domestic travelers spend more than $1 million a minute in the United States each year.
Speaking to Pow Wow journalists, Rasulo — who also serves as TIA’s national chairman — proposed a three-stage approach to reversing America’s negative tourism trend: First, gain the ear of US lawmakers on behalf of the American travel industry; second, ensure American immigration officials balance security and hospitality at the borders; and, third, launch an $300 million marketing effort that promotes the United States as a welcoming travel destination.
Why? Because each year some 750 million people travel outside their country — that’s one in every eight people; and in the next 15 years, the number of international travelers is expected to double.
The US travel industry has made recapturing a bigger share of this multitrillion dollar market a top priority. According TIA analysts, a one percent increase in the US market share would produce 151,000 new jobs, $12 billion in positive cash flow, and $2 billion in tax revenues.
But international competitiveness remains a concern to TIA officials, who say competition from other countries, such as Spain, France, Australia, and Asian nations, has led to a shift of travelers toward newer destinations at America’s expense.
“Tourism travel is the path of least resistance,” said Disney’s Rasulo.
“If an international visitor thinks they’re going to hit a barrier, they will simply go elsewhere.”
Research by TIA has concluded that travel and tourism improves America’s image because international guests are inclined to view America more favorably after having personally experienced America’s culture and diversity.
“People who have been to the United States feel 30 percent better about the American people and the US government,” said Rasulo.