War on terror in the U.S. scares off foreign tourists

[truthpusher]

http://www.detnews.com/2005/business/0502/22/C03-96975.htm


Pat Carter / Associated Press

A woman traveling from South America was fingerprinted and photographed upon her arrival at Miami airport. A U.S. travel exec says U.S. should treat visitors as customers not invaders.

War on terror in the U.S. scares off foreign tourists
Even though weak dollar brings in more visitors, some feel it's a hassle to travel.

By Brad Foss / Associated Press

(snip)

The stakes involved are huge. Visitors from abroad accounted for about $93.5 billion in spending and economic activity in the United States in 2004, according to Commerce Department estimates. That's slightly larger than U.S. exports of automobiles, engines and parts.
Tourism officials ascribe the decline partly to anti-Americanism that arose after the country launched military action in Afghanistan and Iraq and to the "hassle factor" associated with new visa application and airport security procedures.

(snip)

"We have developed an image in many countries as fortress America," said Betsy O'Rourke, senior vice president for marketing at the Travel Industry Association of America, a Washington-based trade group. O'Rourke said tourists should be greeted as "customers," not potential "invaders."

(snip)



complete story:
http://www.detnews.com/2005/business/0502/22/C03-96975.htm

[purduejake]

1. When the government has no problem with...

snatching people out of airports and shipping them to the middle east for torture, people will be concerned and spend their money elsewhere.

[markmalcom]

2. Hey Truthpusher.....I hope this news piece isn't entirely

accurate, as I'm in the Tourism industry....This is a bit off topic, but I wanted to know who wrote the "Metta" quote on your post...It's quite beautiful.

[DBoon]

3. You wouldn't want the rest of the world to think we are a police state

would you?

[ConcernedCanuk]

5. Too late - We already do

.
.
.

And among my "chat" friends, including one from China,

The most relative comment refers to the "United States acting like they are the International Police"

Wunder why :freak:

[DBoon]

7. forgot the tag in my post!

eom

[cliss]

4. That's amazing.

Here the treasury department, and many other "pundits" thought that the dollar's slide into the toilet would be really good for tourism.

Who could have guessed? That's ironic.

Also, how could the BeelzeBush administration have guessed that other countries would boycott American made goods? Not them. They were so sure that by letting the dollar fall, they would recoup lots of $$$.

Maybe not.

[TahitiNut]

6. A 45% increase in Middle East tourism?

Are they counting all the military, political, and corporate junkets? Hell, it's the invasion of the carpetbaggers!

[moondust]

8. Who would want their fingerprints

on file in the Ashcroft/Gonzales justice department, the FBI, the CIA, and who knows where else? What if they make a mistake and lock you up in a dog pound for a couple years without so much as a phone call?

No thank you!

[dutchdemocrat]

9. I won't

I refuse to set one foot in America until there's a regime change. I was also pleased to notice, while working in Brazil for six months, that the government of Brazil forces all Americans (and US citizens only) to be fingerprinted and photographed when entering the country. One US pilot was tossed in jail recently for refusing... too bad.

Tit for tat - and don't mistake this as Anti-Americanism please... Being from Vancouver I have more in common with people in Seattle than I do with people in Toronto.

Please get your country back.

[TomClash]

10. But whores from phony news organs can get into the WH Briefing Room

[leveymg]

11. The AP photog risked having his camera confiscated to take that shot

I've been through Immigration at Miami Int'l. There are big signs that say "NO PHOTOGRAPHY OR VIDEO IN THIS AREA" I guess someone in the MSM is still willing to take some risks to do his job.

I wondered at the time why they didn't want photos taken there. The expression on that woman's face tells it all.

Welcome to the land of the free. Have a nice visit.

[struggle4progress]

12. kick