Welcome to the United States: Now give us your money
SYDNEY – The United States is about to call on international visitors to fund the country’s overseas tourism promotion campaigns.
Visitors to the US will be slugged US$10 each to fund a non-profit corporation to promote travel to the United States.
The new body will be tasked with “assuring potential visitors they will be welcomed in America, while also assisting with paperwork and offering information regarding American places of interest outside the usual tourist destinationsâ€.
Cynics will argue that most countries do not charge fee to make visitors feel welcome.
Australia’s Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) says international tourism to Australia will face stiff competition from the scheme in the United States which will help fund a US$200 million marketing war chest.
“The United States has long been a major travel destination,†said TTF Executive Director Brett Gale, “but this programme will see Washington fund international marketing of the US for the first time.â€
Gale said the Travel Promotion Act would significantly boost the United States’ already strong appeal.
“Air capacity between Australia and the US increased substantially over the past 12 months, thanks to new carriers competing on the Pacific route.
“Even without US government investment in marketing, the US was able to increase Australian visitors by 15.2 per cent in 2009, while Australia only increased American visitors by 5.6 per cent.â€
Gale said 567,000 Australians visited the United States in 2009 while just 479,800 Americans visited Australia.
“The impact of this new marketing effort could see that imbalance blow out even further and Australia will need to be alert as to the potential effect of increased promotion of the US as a destination,” Gale added.
The latest International Visitor Survey (IVS), released by Tourism Research Australia, shows that international visitors to Australia were up 0.2 per cent nationally in 2009, with visitor nights up 5.5 per cent and expenditure up 5.2 per cent.
The result is due to rises in two categories: visiting friends and relatives (up 13 per cent) and education (up 10.4 per cent).
The number of high-yield holiday and business visitors fell 1.6 percent and 13.8 percent respectively, compared to 2008.
Ian Jarrett
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