America's war on tourists

[babylonsister]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10436518

America's war on tourists
Saturday April 28, 2007
By Peter Huck

"Welcome to LA, where the world comes together," reads the greeting from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at Los Angeles International Airport.

But standing in one of the interminable queues that snake into the non-resident alien section of LAX recently, waiting to clear United States immigration and customs, it was clear that for many people their first hours on US soil were dominated by anxiety and frustration rather than anticipation of good times past the barrier.

Welcome to America, where officials who work for the Department of Homeland Security, which was set up after the 2001 terrorist attacks, have a major image problem.

In a recent poll of international travellers, commissioned by Discover America Partnership, a coalition of US tourist organisations, 70 per cent of respondents said they feared US officials more than terrorists or criminals. Another 66 per cent worried they would be detained for some minor blunder, such as wrongly filling out an official form or being mistaken for a terrorist, while 55 per cent say officials are "rude."

Such fears are fuelled by the horror stories. Earlier this year a friend of mine was detained for hours and strip-searched at LAX for a minor visa infraction. He was finally allowed to enter the US, on the condition he departed the next day. "I won't be coming back," he said.

In a January Listener article New Zealand journalist Marilyn Head described how she missed a flight after being treated like a criminal by US airport guards.

"I left the US vowing never to return," she wrote. "I'm not alone."

more...

[Warpy]

1. The GOP is trying to kill the travel industry

because a population that is forbidden to travel is a captive population.

They're trying to kill the airlines, especially.

Feel safer? I don't. Hijackers were a once in many millions risk. Harassment of passengers can happen any time for no reason at all and does on nearly every flight.

[Kali]

2. I have a friend from Germany

who got hassled at a border patrol checkpoint (30 miles THIS side of the border) for not having zzz korrrect payperz (they were at my house another 30 miles away, we were just out for a road trip - I was driving) She is thinking about not coming back. Been coming here for 20 years - did some of her academic work here. Lives in a free country.

[indepat]

3. We don't need foreign tourists just like we don't need foreigners funding our massive twin

deficits. What a 'ffing joke our country has become courtesy of the 'ffing neocon cabal and their supporters and enablers.

[razzleberry]

4. tourism is sleazy money

It is nice to visit Disneyland,
but you don't want to work there.

Tourism --> mostly low end jobs