America’s largest service export is not music or movies. The largest “export” are the dollars spent by international travelers coming to the United States. In 2010, international visitors spent $134 billion, supporting 1.2 million jobs. A rise of a middle class and greater freedom to travel from such mammoth places as China and India has fueled an international travel boom. But while the United States used to be the leading destination for travelers from abroad, America’s market share of international travel spending has fallen from 17% in 2000 to 11% in 2010 more than a 30% decrease – largely due to less ability to compete, and to some degree, more stringent requirements imposed after September 11, 2001.
Today, President Barack Obama, in yet another “We Can’t Wait” initiative to stimulate the economy and create jobs, signed an executive order and announced new initiatives to significantly increase travel and tourism in the United States, particularly by expediting visa process for China, Brazil and India, the three largest growth markets for international travelers in the world, and by spurring the creation of a travel and tourism strategy for the US.
The U.S. tourism and travel industry is a substantial component of U.S. GDP and employment, representing 2.7% of GDP and 7.5 million jobs in 2010 – with international travel to the United States supporting 1.2 million jobs alone. It is the first, second or third largest employer in every state and many localities, and in many communities travel and tourism has filled the gap left by the loss of manufacturing industries.
The travel and tourism industry projects that more than 1 million American jobs could be created over the next decade if the U.S. increased its share of the international travel market.
“Every year, tens of millions of tourists from all over the world come and visit America. And the more folks who visit America, the more Americans we get back to work,” said President Obama who made a trip to Walt Disney World to announce the new measures. “We need to help businesses all across the country grow and create jobs; compete and win. That’s how we’re going to rebuild an economy where hard work pays off, where responsibility is rewarded, and where anyone can make it if they try.”
The initiatives call for substantially improving the visa processing capability in these markets, and also promoting domestic and international travel to and within the United States.
The US travel and tourism industry hailed the measures.
“For every 65 people who visit, one job is created,” declared Bob Eiger, President and CEO of Walt Disney Corporation and a member of the president’s Jobs Council. “From Walt Disney World’s perspective, we have the ability to create that many more jobs by simply adding to our visitation… This is a great step. These are not just words. There are very tangible parts of the initiative that can have tangible effect on our business and the economy, and we at Walt Disney appreciate that.”
Tony Gonchar, American Society for Travel Agents (ASTA) CEO, praised steps taken by President Barak Obama to elevate travel and tourism to a fuller role in rebuilding the United States economy.
“President Obama has recognized the potential of the tourism sector to create more jobs, add fiscal growth to our national economy, and improved our balance of trade,” Gonchar said. “ASTA is particularly pleased to see the focus on increasing visa waiver countries, reducing visa interview and visa issuance waiting times, and streamlining access to the United States by making the Global Entry Program permanent.
“As an association with member travel agents worldwide, this will enable our members to assist their customers to see more of the United States, do it more easily, and hopefully, more often.”
International visitors to the US spend on average $4000 apiece, but visitors from China and Brazil spend substantially more, on average $6,000 and $5,000 respectively each, per trip, according to the Department of Commerce.
Certain areas that are most popular with tourists – including Florida, New York, California – will see tangible benefits by opening the floodgates to tourism.
In addition, the initiatives call for the Department of Interior to promote visitation from domestic and international visitors alike to our national treasures, including national parks, monuments and sites.
In 2010, national sites drew 400 million visitors, contributing nearly $50 billion in economic activity and 400,000 jobs.
The President’s order also charges several agencies to join an inter-agency task force, co-lead by the Secretaries of Commerce and Interior, to develop recommendations for a national travel and tourism strategy to promote domestic and international tourism strategy. The report is due back in 90 days.
As with other executive orders, this one charges various agencies across the federal government to work together to implement the new initiatives - in this case, the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Interior and Department of Commerce.
Travel & Tourism: Vital to the Economy
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, international travel resulted in $134 billion in U.S. exports in 2010 and is the nation’s largest service export industry, with 7% of total exports and 24% of service exports. The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that every additional 65 international visitors to the United States can generate enough exports to support an additional travel and tourism-related job. According to the travel industry and Bureau of Economic Analysis, international travel is particularly important as overseas or “long-haul” travelers spend on average $4,000 on each visit.
Today’s announcement calls for a national strategy to make the United States the world’s top travel and tourism destination, as part of a comprehensive effort to spur job creation. The number of travelers from emerging economies with growing middle classes – such as China, Brazil, and India – is projected to grow by 135%, 274%, and 50% respectively by 2016 when compared to 2010. Nationals from these three countries contributed approximately $15 billion dollars and thousands of jobs to the U.S. economy in 2010. In addition, Chinese and Brazilian tourists currently spend more than $6,000 and $5,000 respectively each, per trip, according to the Department of Commerce.
The Department of State has made tremendous progress in processing non-immigrant visas from these key markets, allowing them to issue more than 7.5 million visas in the last fiscal year, a 17% increase from the previous fiscal year. In the 2011 fiscal year, consular officers adjudicated more than a million visa applications in China and more than 800,000 in Brazil, representing 34% growth in China and 42% growth in Brazil. Improving visa processing capacity for China and Brazil is particularly important because of this growth.
Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett, in a conference call with reporters to discuss the initiatives, said that these initiatives could spur the Leisure and Hospitality sector to add 2.1 to 2.3 million jobs in this decade, while the US Travel Industry Association (USTIA) is predicting that up to 3 million jobs can be created by 2020.
As with other executive orders, this one charges various agencies across the federal government to work together to implement the new initiatives- in this case, the initiatives draw upon the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Interior and Department of Commerce.
Key Highlights of Tourism Promotion Effort:
Today’s Executive Order charges several agencies to take part in efforts to increase travel and tourism in the United States:
The Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior will be charged with:
o Co-leading an interagency task force to develop recommendations for a National Travel & Tourism Strategy to promote domestic and international travel opportunities throughout the United States, thereby expanding job creation. This Task Force will coordinate with the Corporation for Travel Promotion (currently doing business as BrandUSA), a non-profit corporation established by Congress through the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 to promote travel to the United States, and the Tourism Policy Council to ensure private sector participation and cross-agency coordination.
o A particular focus of the Task Force will be on strategies for increasing tourism and recreation jobs by promoting visits to our national treasures. The Department of the Interior manages iconic destinations in our national parks, wildlife refuges, cultural and historic sites, monuments and other public lands that attract travelers from around the country and the globe. In 2010, more than 400 million visits were made by American and international travelers to these lands, contributing nearly $50 billion in economic activity and 400,000 jobs. Eco-tourism and outdoor recreation also have an outsize impact on rural economies, particularly in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.
The Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security will be charged with:
o Increasing non-immigrant visa processing capacity in China and Brazil by 40% in 2012.
o Ensuring that 80% of non-immigrant visa applicants are interviewed within three weeks of receipt of application.
o Increasing efforts to expand the Visa Waiver Program and travel by nationals eligible to participate in the Visa Waiver Program, and expanding reciprocal trusted travel programs for expedited travel (such as the Global Entry program).
The Department of Commerce will be charged with:
o Establishing and maintaining a publicly available website with key information and statistics from across the Federal Government to assist industry and travelers in understanding visa processes in key travel and tourism markets, and entry times into the United States.
Additional initiatives announced today include:
New Pilot Program and Rule Change for Visa Processing in China and Brazil:
o Today, the Departments of State and Homeland Security announced a pilot program to simplify and speed up the non-immigrant visa process for certain applicants, including the ability to waive interviews for some very low-risk applicants, such as individuals from any country renewing non-immigrant visas, or, in Brazil, younger or older first-time applicants. (Link to fact sheet HERE for more information.)
Final Rule to Expand and Make the Global Entry Program Permanent:
o Global Entry is a program within the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection that was created as a pilot in 2008 to facilitate expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. Through a final rule, the Administration will expand and make the Global Entry program permanent. Due in part to innovative public-private partnerships, the Global Entry program now has more than 246,000 members, more than one million trusted travelers have Global Entry benefits, and efforts are underway to expand enrollment even further. There are currently 131 Global Entry kiosks at 20 airports and since launching, members have used Global Entry kiosks over 1.7 million times, saving CBP officers over 36,450 inspection hours—staff hours that CBP has then re-allocated to expedite regular passenger queues. This final rule will allow the program to be expanded to an additional 4 airports in Minneapolis, Charlotte, Denver and Phoenix, making the Global Entry program and expedited clearance available in airports that service approximately 97% of international travelers.
Appoint new members to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board:
o A new membership of 32 private sector CEOs have been appointed by Commerce Secretary Bryson to serve on the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. The Advisory Board will build upon the work undertaken by the past Board addressing travel facilitation, visa policy, improving the international travel entry experience, aviation security, energy security, crisis communications and research and data, among other issues. This Board consists of corporate executives across the nation, representing all aspects of the travel and tourism industry, who are appointed to a two-year term to advise the Secretary of Commerce on policies affecting the travel and tourism industry. (See the full list of new members HERE.)
Nomination of Taiwan to Visa Waiver Program:
o Currently, more than 60% of international tourists do not require a U.S. visa, in most cases because they travel under the Visa Waiver Program. The Secretary of State has formally requested that the Secretary of Homeland Security consider Taiwan for the Visa Waiver Program. Over the past year, Taiwan has undertaken significant efforts to improve its law enforcement and document security standards to meet the strict requirements for Visa Waiver Program eligibility. Under the Visa Waiver Program, participating nationals can travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. The program was established to promote travel and tourism with our foreign partners, stimulate the tourism industry, and permit the Department of State to focus consular resources in other areas. Since November 2008, the Department of Homeland Security has added nine countries to the Visa Waiver Program, bringing the program total to 36 countries.
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