US reports 30% drop in visitors
The US government has reportedly announced a 30 per cent drop in visitor numbers to the country, partly caused by new, strict security and visa rules.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the secretary of state Colin Powell told Congress’s judiciary committee: The overall statistic is that we are down 30 per cent since 2001. That’s significant. That’s a lot of money, it is a lot of people.”
As reported, US authorities recently announced that visitors from visa-waiver countries, including the UK, will be photographed and fingerprinted as they arrive in the United States, as from 30 September.
This arrangement was introduced because countries around the world are not ready to comply with another proposed regulation that a waiver of visa regulations would only be granted to those with biometric passports containing information, such as a digital photograph, on a computer chip.
Powell, reportedly warning that tourists will continue to travel to other countries instead of the United States if the situation did not change, urged Congress to delay the biometric passport deadline for two years.
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
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