US facing image crisis, says major travel group
The US has a worldwide image crisis that needs to be fixed, says a major travel industry group.
“We need an umbrella campaign that promotes Americans, promotes American values and the vastness of what you can see here,” said Roger Dow, president of the Travel Industry Association.
His comments came after a published study by the Pew Research Center showed America’s popularity continues to plummet.
In the survey, just three countries expressed more favorable opinions about the US than they did last year. Those countries were Great Britain, Pakistan and China.
The war with Iraq is clearly a major cause for the decline.
But data shows that people who have visited the US have higher opinions than non-visitors.
Mr Dow noted that state efforts to attract overseas visitors almost always focus on local attractions rather than on the country as a whole.
“We could divert a little money and for a paltry sum get the world to say,”You know what, Americans are all right,’” he said.
Report by David Wilkening
David
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments
AirlineRatings reveals world's safest airline rankings for 2026
Vietnam warns airlines of possible flight reductions amid jet fuel shortages
Fliggy opens AI-powered travel bookings and developer tools