PETER HUCK, NEW ZEALAND HERALD - In a recent poll of international
travelers, commissioned by Discover America Partnership, a coalition of
US tourist organizations, 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.". . .
Before September 11, US airport staff often seemed to err on the
laid-back rather than on the vigilant side. Now some overzealous
officials appear to regard all tourists as potential terrorists.
Entering America can feel like running the gauntlet. . .
Such comments, and the poll results - which rate the US by a 2:1 margin
as the world's "most unfriendly" destination for foreign travelers - are
found in "A Blueprint to Discover America," unveiled in January by
Discover America Partnership to halt a dramatic decline in foreign
visitors.
According to the blueprint overseas travel to the US has slumped 17 per
cent since 2001, even as world travel to other countries reaches
historic growth levels. The decline has cost US $94 billion in visitor
spending, US $16 billion in tax receipts, and some 194,000 American
jobs. Many poll respondents said that visiting the US had become a
hassle and that they would take their holiday money elsewhere.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10436518
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travelers, commissioned by Discover America Partnership, a coalition of
US tourist organizations, 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.". . .
Before September 11, US airport staff often seemed to err on the
laid-back rather than on the vigilant side. Now some overzealous
officials appear to regard all tourists as potential terrorists.
Entering America can feel like running the gauntlet. . .
Such comments, and the poll results - which rate the US by a 2:1 margin
as the world's "most unfriendly" destination for foreign travelers - are
found in "A Blueprint to Discover America," unveiled in January by
Discover America Partnership to halt a dramatic decline in foreign
visitors.
According to the blueprint overseas travel to the US has slumped 17 per
cent since 2001, even as world travel to other countries reaches
historic growth levels. The decline has cost US $94 billion in visitor
spending, US $16 billion in tax receipts, and some 194,000 American
jobs. Many poll respondents said that visiting the US had become a
hassle and that they would take their holiday money elsewhere.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10436518
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