Frommer: America’s ‘War on Tourists’ Waged with Red Tape

Travel Blog  •  Jim Benning  •  07.16.07 | 7:56 AM ET

Foreign tourism to the U.S. is down 10 percent since 2000, costing the U.S. billions of dollars in revenue. Why? “The overwhelming consensus of the WTTC [World Travel & Tourism Conference in Lisbon] was that we have made it extraordinarily difficult for most foreign tourists to obtain visas for travel into the United States,” writes Arthur Frommer in Sunday’s Chicago Tribune. “In some countries, it requires several weeks simply to make an appointment to apply for such a visa at a U.S. consulate. Let me repeat that: Not only is the application process a time-consuming procedure, but it requires a several-week wait for an appointment to apply for the visa!” Now, he adds, further delays are being proposed. The nation’s inability to improve the system, he concludes, is a “catastrophic oversight.”



1 Comment for Frommer: America’s ‘War on Tourists’ Waged with Red Tape

Paul 07.17.07 | 9:42 AM ET

And it’s not only that; the prospect of being finger-printed upon entry is certainly not an appealing thought. I know plenty of people who were previously very interested in visiting the US, and now are actively avoiding travelling there until such procedures are dropped.

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