U.S. SENDS HOMELAND SECURITY AGENTS TO PROMOTE U.S. TOURISM AMONG ARABS

AP - Promoters from 64 countries vied this week to lure big-spending
Arab tourists to their countries at the Middle East's largest tourism
convention. But not a single promoter from the United States turned up.
Instead, the U.S. government sent officials from the Department of
Homeland Security to demonstrate its mandatory fingerprinting of Arab
and other foreign visitors. The only other U.S. presence inside the
Americas hall at the show came from a tiny boutique hotel in New York.
"It's bizarre," said Sarah Wood, promoting Canada's Ontario and Niagara
Falls at a nearby booth. "People ask us where the U.S. booth is and we
point them to the Homeland Security booth." A pair of U.S. Homeland
Security officials at the show did their best to give details on
America's tourist sights, such as the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, while
explaining that being fingerprinted by U.S. immigration officials
doesn't mean a person should feel like a criminal. "We tell them, 'We
want you to come to the United States,' " said Homeland Security
spokeswoman Kimberly Weissman. "They ask us about destinations and we
give them our personal anecdotes."

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