‘The Power of Travel Must Be a Critical Element in our Public Diplomacy Efforts’

Travel Blog  •  Michael Yessis  •  09.14.06 | 8:17 AM ET

I pulled that quote from the home page of the Discover America Partnership, a new organization of United States travel industry representatives that seeks to boost the levels of visitors to the country and to enlist Americans as “citizen diplomats.” As we wrote earlier this year, the dwindling number of visitors to the U.S.—the industry says the war in Iraq and security restrictions are the main contributors to the decline—has the domestic tourism industry in a panic.

According to a story by Joel Havemann in the Los Angeles Times, Geoff Freeman, executive director of the Discover America Partnership, said, “We’re not a welcoming country. Most countries ask people to come visit them. We have more of a fortress appearance.”

The Discover America Partnership, which began its lobbying push yesterday in Washington D.C., hopes it can attract 10 million more visitors to the U.S. in each coming year. It’s a challenge in this political climate, where, from the government’s viewpoint, “all of the risk is with travel, and all the reward is with security,” Freeman told the Times.

But the industry is leaning into the government’s arguments, financing ads “that make the case that tourism can ease American image problems and increase security in the long-term,” Havemann writes.

It’s a noble effort, but will the campaign help change any restrictive policies within the administration? We’ll see.

Tags: Global Village, Politics, North America, United States, News and Briefs


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