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No One Wants to Visit America
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Abysmal foreign policy impacts a country in many different ways. Sometimes, for example, a country becomes so disliked abroad that tourists simply stop coming to visit.
Unfortunately, this has become the case with America.
Sure, the United States still receives a large number of tourists every year, but the numbers have been dropping substantially despite a large increase in international tourism elsewhere around the world. Experts blame this poor showing on fear of terrorism and general dislike for America's foreign policy.
In fact, the industry has taken such a dive that tourist organizations small and large (including Disneyland) have banded together to launch the Discover America Partnership, which, according to the LA Times, "aims to restore some of the billions of dollars in international tourism that the U.S. lost in the first half of this decade."
Take a moment to check out the website; it's basically a PR campaign for America.
"The declining image of America around the world generates far-reaching, negative ripple effects for all Americans," the site states. "Restoring America to a position of positive regard around the world will bring benefits to all Americans."
The solution is to "attract more international visitors to America" because "people-to-people communication builds understanding in a way that no other form of communication can match.... That's why the mission of the Discover America Partnership is to strengthen America's image by unlocking the power of travel."
Hey, has anyone considered simply changing our nation's foreign policy? That sure might help the situation...
Filed under: Activism, United States
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tulio Sep 29th 2006 12:09PM
They need to do more than have a website.
Andrés Sep 29th 2006 11:53PM
You should change the title of the post and other words inside the text, because America is not the Unites States. America is a big continent where there exist more than only one country.
So, if you say, "No one wants to visit America", its not true, beacuse a lot of people want to visit America, but maybe not the United States.
Thats exactly one of the reason why the numbers of visitors have been dropping substantially, because they think they are the owner of the world.
Neil Sep 30th 2006 2:58AM
Guilty as charged! Yes, you are right, we here in America often forget that the term applies to those living in other countries as well. I’ll try to be more careful with the term in the future.
Denzylle Oct 2nd 2006 12:13PM
My own reluctance to visit the US, a place I have visited many times previously, is down to the issues around immigration and security, and the sheer brick wall that is the face and voice of the US Embassy in London to anyone other than Americans.
And I'm a white middle aged female. I guess I'd be even more reluctant if I were anything else.
Mark Oct 9th 2006 11:36AM
I experienced this first hand on my trip to Costa Rica last week. Our tour guides had been hoping to visit the USofA, but could not get a visa to visit. Apparently, he can appeal the decision. If he loses the appeal, he won't be able to apply for another visa for 3 years. Guess you have to be a student, a business traveler, or wealthy enough to work (i.e. financially lubricate) the system. Quite a shame. Other countries seem more than eager to invite US tourists (and their money) into their countries.