US pumps $6m into advertising campaign
The US government is to pump $6m into an advertising campaign to encourage tourists from the UK.
The new charm offensive follows months of negative publicity surrounding the tactics and behaviour of US immigration officials.
The campaign is being kept under wraps but will feature on television, in radio and newspapers. It will not focus on a single city or resort, but rather promote the US as a whole.
Alan Waddell, director of the Visit USA Association, said that despite the complaints of treatment of holidaymakers, visitor numbers were up, partly because sterling is strong against the dollar.
“I think all the instances of unfair treatment have been well documented and we’ve moved on from that,” he said. “We’ve had meetings with the authorities and they have taken notice.
“In the six months to the end of June, there were two million British visitors to the US, up more than 13 per cent on the same period last year.
“We’re on target for 4.5 million visitors for 2004, compared with 4.1 million in 2003,” he said.
Meanwhile, the head of Customs and Border protection in the US has visited London to apologise for the rude treatment and shackling of some British visitors. He promised a total commitment to professionalism from the country’s 20,000 airport immigration staff.
Commissioner Robert Bonner said: “A few officers have forgotten that, while they must secure our borders, they are also ambassadors.
“These incidents do not reflect the vast majority of front line officers but even one instance of rude behaviour is too many.”
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