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Ease tourists' entry pains, officials plead

By STEVE HUETTEL
Published February 1, 2007

With the number of overseas visitors to the United States slipping, travel industry executives lobbied federal officials Wednesday to make entering the country easier and more welcoming to tourists.

Overseas travel to the United States is down 17 percent since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The first six months of last year showed a 1 percent decline overall from 2005 and a 4 percent drop in visitors from Western Europe, the Commerce Department reports.

Travelers cite long delays obtaining visas and long lines at U.S. airport checkpoints staffed by grumpy federal agents.

"Of all the things ... preventing overseas travelers, the most onerous is their perception of the process to get into our country," said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Rasulo and two hotel chain executives testified before a Senate committee Wednesday to push a package of travel industry initiatives to boost international tourism. They include:

- Processing visa applications within 30 days by beefing up staff at consulates and using better technology, such as teleconferencing.

- Adding 250 new Customs and Border Protection agents at major airports so international travelers can move through checkpoints in 30 minutes or less.

- Improving service at airports by using line-management techniques from companies like Disney and asking travelers to rate their performance.

A year ago, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff kicked off a program to welcome legitimate visitors without compromising security. They said Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport would be models for visitor screening.

Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson told a travel industry gathering Wednesday that the government is studying results of the program. "We could do just a little better job of this," he said.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or 813226-3384.

[Last modified February 1, 2007, 00:00:00]