Posted on 03/10/2013 2:24:14 PM PDT by Olog-hai
A record one billion people—one in seven on the planet—traveled to another country last year. So why aren’t more tourists coming to America?
The United States has Hollywood, the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, Hawaiian surf, Maine lobsters, Florida beaches and the neon dreams of Las Vegas. We have Graceland, the Golden Gate Bridge, Disney World and the bright lights of Broadway. But as global travel and tourism has boomed to historic levels, tourism industry officials said the U.S. share of those visitors has shrunk by almost a third in the past decade. That’s partly because of increased U.S. security after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but industry analysts say it’s also because China, Turkey and other nations have become huge tourist magnets. …
So the United States is now doing what once seemed profoundly unnecessary: shelling out millions of dollars to promote America as an international travel destination. … The Obama administration, in partnership with the travel and tourism industry, is spending $150 million this year on its promotional effort. Part of it is a “Discover America” campaign that includes television commercials in nine nations, ads on the Tokyo subway, banners in London and Vancouver, Facebook pages in Portuguese and German, and Tweets about the charms of the Dakotas. …
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
A foreigner subjecting himself to the TSA hardly sounds like it would be much a vacation for him.
Right now Venezuelan companies are more likely to be lured back there than the possibility of foreign based American companies returning home.
Just tell them to stay out of Miami, Chicago and NYC.
I don’t see this happening with Barry Sequester and his ‘RATS all over CNN telling the world that Americans are prowling the streets with “assault weapons” and “rocket launchers”.
Miami is attracting a huge amount of South and Central American Touristas then they ALL go to Disneyworld.
Usually during the summer which is winter where they come from/
Also they usually take a sidetrip to the Sawgrass Mills mall where they stock up on EVERYTHING.
I read of tourists getting into the wrong section of Miami. Last two Brits shot were two men who did wander away from the main street, didn’t know the area. Dizzyland is okay and some other attractions but the tourist sure better know where to go and where not to go.
I remember when the French couple wondered into a group of “revelers” in NYC. The lady was welcomed to a stripping and groping.
May have happened in Miami, too, but you may be thinking of the two young Brit guys gunned down in Sarasota. Just a couple blocks off the main drag and tourist area. Apparently took a wrong turn heading back toward where they were staying.
Right - thought it was in Miami. My mistake.
They were staying in a condo on the beach. Did some work for the owner of an adjacent unit. She said they were very nice young men just over here on vacation.
Stole my thunder...The media, with the help of our government, tries to portray the US as the "Wild West" with guns everywhere, and they wonder why people don't want to come here.
America’s GW Bush and Obama international reputation as a newly minted police state has really resonated around the world. Even a cheap YouTube type video aimed at Europe could completely negate any advertising scheme from Washington.
Just rig up a cheap set that represents a Customs checkpoint for visitors to American. Show the TSA thugs brutalizing, stealing from, sexually molesting, asking intrusive and insulting questions, etc.
With BO, his owners and his lackeys turning this country into a third world sh*thole, what is the appeal for visitors from third world sh*tholes to visit? At least third world sh*tholes have bargain prices. We don’t.
Don’t travel much, do you? We’ve gotten far more aggressive treatment by the Germans than we’ve ever gotten from the TSA. Of course, the Muzzies have shot up the Frankfurt airport a couple of times.
The totally subservient American sheeple actually stand in line and take off any article of clothing the high-school dropouts whom they are paying $70K to tell him to remove, while another official cretin fondles his wife and another harasses little crippled girls in wheel chairs.
What a disgusting specimen the average American has become. He doesn’t have a clue what freedom was.
Also when I was leaving the UK, at Heathrow they patted everyone down AFTER the security checkpoint.. Go figure..
Here in Hollywood, there has been a large increase of bus tours that lined up Hollywood Blvd. Even with the recession, it’s become cutthroat. Just don’t tell the tourists (or any Freeper0 to head to downtown after 7 PM. It’s Detroit and afro city all rolled into one.
Even hotels near Disney aren’t all that safe. Many years ago, back when we could afford an occassional vacation, hubby came back from the pool in short time because someone had killed a pizza delivery man across the parking lot from him. We always had something weird happen so it is probably a good thing we can’t go anywhere these days.
If only he'd let us.
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